Fang Tian Ci’s indifferent voice rang out, “If one day Big Brother’s consciousness falls asleep once again, who do you think should take control of Big Brother’s body, you or I?”
Thunder Shadow immediately fell silent…
Inheriting Yang Kai’s mastery of Grand Daos was also beneficial. If one day Yang Kai’s consciousness was disturbed once again, it would naturally be better for Fang Tian Ci to take over his physical body, because he would be able to bring out more of Yang Kai’s strength.
Back then, Thunder Shadow took over Yang Kai’s body first only because of an accident. At that time, Yang Kai had suddenly fallen into a coma and Thunder Shadow was the first to awaken, so taking over Yang Kai’s body was only natural.
Fang Tian Ci’s consciousness only woke up after Thunder Shadow had lost Mo Na Ye. If Fang Tian Ci had woken up first, Mo Na Ye might not have had a chance to escape.
That was why Yang Kai felt that Mo Na Ye was a scourge who could last for thousands of years and was not fated to die at that time.
“Second Brother, don’t jinx it!” After remaining silent for a moment, Thunder Shadow finally squeezed out a sentence, “Be careful in the future, it may not happen again.”
“There is always a chance for anything to happen. This has already happened before, we have to be on guard against it!”
“How could there be so many chances…”
As the two kept quibbling in his mind, Yang Kai couldn’t help but burst into laughter as he listened. He didn’t feel frustrated or anything, rather, he had a sense of novelty.
Over these years, whether he was facing powerful enemies or exploring foreign lands, Yang Kai had often been alone, without anyone to rely on. Now that he had a Human Self and a Monster Self by his side, he would not feel too lonely.
Leaving them to their own devices, Yang Kai calmly observed his surroundings.
When he first stepped into the Universe Furnace World, he found that this place was extremely rich in Shattered Dao Essence. The amalgamation of Shattered Dao Essence gave birth to all kinds of terrains and even condensed into the Infinite River. It also gave birth to extremely unique native creatures like the Chaos Spirit Clan.
However, after the Grand Dao had undergone several evolutions, the omnipresent Shattered Dao Essence had become extremely thin, and was replaced by order and stability. At this moment, the environment of the Universe Furnace World was only slightly different from the 3,000 Worlds.
[Why does the Grand Dao evolve inside the Universe Furnace? What does the evolution of the Grand Dao mean?]
When he first received information from the Human Race cultivators about this phenomenon, Yang Kai began to ponder the issue. Every time the Grand Dao evolved, he would carefully perceive the changes in his surroundings, hoping to find some kind of rule behind it; but unfortunately, he had not been able to gain anything.
It wasn’t until he went deep into the Infinite River and comprehended the mysteries of the evolution from Chaos to the 10,000 Grand Daos that he finally had some guesses, but it was extremely hard to verify them.
The Universe Furnace lived up to its name as the most Supreme Treasure. Just the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills it produced were a fantastic opportunity. The Universe Furnace World was a World of its own, and the Chaos Spirit Clan bred inside it was an extremely large and diverse group while the Chaos Spirit Kings strengths were not inferior to that of a Ninth-Order Master or Royal Lord.
However, Yang Kai had a faint feeling that the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was not the greatest opportunity inside the Universe Furnace. The Universe Furnace itself was the real opportunity, and if he could find its true location, that would really be the biggest harvest.
But since ancient times, no one had ever seen the true body of the Universe Furnace, let alone reached it.
Yang Kai wanted to find the true body of the Universe Furnace. If he could accomplish this feat, it would definitely be of great help to the Human Race. At the very least, there would be no need for them to compete for Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills in the future.
Of course, he knew that this was a daunting task and he too might not be able to accomplish what many Great Experts had failed to do throughout the ages.
Regardless, he could only do his best and leave the rest to the Heavens!
According to the information Yang Kai had gathered so far, the Infinite River was the biggest hint. The Infinite River stretched across the entire Universe Furnace World, so it must have some kind of connection to the Universe Furnace itself.
As for the evolution of the Universe Furnace’s Grand Dao, it was nothing more than the process of the Chaos evolving into the 10,000 Grand Daos. It was just that the profound process was divided into nine steps by the Universe Furnace, allowing one to feel it more clearly and intuitively!
Yang Kai had a vague feeling that the intrinsic quality of the Universe Furnace was perhaps the profound mystery of Chaos evolving into 10,000 Grand Daos. As for the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill and the Chaos Spirit Clan it gave birth to, they were just side-effects of the process.
“Big Brother, Second Brother has ulterior motives, he wants to take over your body!” Thunder Shadow didn’t bother to haggle with Fang Tian Ci and simply pleaded his case to the higher-ups.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but laugh, but just as he was about to speak, a look of surprise appeared on his face as he looked in a certain direction, “Found it!”
Saying so, he activated Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability and flew in that direction.
In his mind, the two were still engaged in a verbal spat, but after a moment, Fang Tian Ci, who had noticed the strangeness, shouted, “Shut up and focus.”
“Ah,” Thunder Shadow suddenly became silent, but after a moment, he indignantly stated, “Look, it’s my Innate Divine Ability!”
Fang Tian Ci couldn’t bother to argue with him any further.
A moment later, Thunder Shadow’s voice rang out again, “This Chaos Spirit King really isn’t very smart. Why did it suddenly come back here? It’s as if it’s afraid that others won’t be able to find it.”
Thunder Shadow had a sense of familiarity when it laid eyes on the scenery before him. It was the exact same location where the Black Ink Clan had fought with the Chaos Spirit King over the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill previously, where the colony of the Chaos Spirit Clan was.
At that time, Xiao You had pinned down the Chaos Spirit King while he tasked a Pseudo-Royal Lord to snatch the pill, but Yang Kai and Thunder Shadow beat them to it, leading to a chase. As Yang Kai was seriously injured after, he had no choice but to escape into the Infinite River with Thunder Shadow.
When Yang Kai re-emerged, he used the Open Heaven Pill to lure away the Chaos Spirit King in order to alleviate the Human Race’s crisis. Afterwards, the Human Race and Black Ink Clan engaged in a horrific battle and no one paid any attention to the whereabouts of the Chaos Spirit King. In the end, Yang Kai found the Chaos Spirit King back here.
“Big Brother, did you know this guy would return here?” Thunder Shadow asked.
As Yang Kai quietly approached like a shadow, he casually replied, “As you said, it’s not very smart, so it was worth a shot.”
As they were communicating inside Yang Kai’s head, leaving no traces, no one outside could hear and detect them.
Although he had said so, Yang Kai was actually quite confident in his hypothesis; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come straight here.
The intelligence of the Chaos Spirit Clan was truly dismaying, even the strongest Chaos Spirit Kings were no exception.
At this moment, a large number of Chaos Entities were gathered as the colony of the Chaos Spirit Clan spread as far as the eye could see. There was also a smaller number of Chaos Spirit Clan members who had already taken on physical forms.
These Chaos Spirit Clan members happened to be gathered around in a large sphere with a certain Chaos Entity at their center. Furthermore, one could vaguely make out the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill within that flowing mass of Chaotic Force.
In addition, the Chaos Spirit King happened to be standing nearby.
Apparently, the Chaos Spirit King was extremely vigilant as it had suffered a loss once already. Its powerful Divine Sense was constantly sweeping through the void, and even the slightest oddity or movement would draw its attention.
To be honest, if it weren’t for Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, Yang Kai could forget about sneaking into this place, and even with the help of Thunder Shadow’s mastery of the Dao of Concealment, Yang Kai was still being extremely cautious.
Bit by bit, Yang Kai slowly approached, trying his best not to leak even a hint of his aura.
Having reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai naturally didn’t fear this Chaos Spirit King, but he also had no intention of fighting it. The opposite party wasn’t a part of the Black Ink Clan and he would not gain anything by defeating it. It would be even worse if he lost, which was entirely possible. It could even be said that Yang Kai would be on the losing end if they fought, no matter the outcome.
Therefore, Yang Kai had already made up his mind to simply snatch the pill and flee!
The Chaos Spirit King’s thoughts were simple, [If you eat my pill, you must spit it out. I found it first, so it’s mine!]
Stealthily approaching, Yang Kai pushed Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to its utmost limit.
At some point, the Chaos Spirit King who was observing the surroundings suddenly turned its head, looking in the direction Yang Kai was hiding.
In front of someone as strong as this Chaos Spirit King, and a vigilant one at that, there was no such thing as a perfect concealment technique. When the distance between them reached a certain limit, Yang Kai’s existence was ultimately discovered.
Yang Kai was already prepared for this though. The moment the Chaos Spirit King noticed that something was wrong, Yang Kai surged his Space Principles and stepped forward, instantly arriving at the place where the Chaos Spirit Clan members were gathered. The next moment, loud splashing sounds rang out as he summoned the Space-Time River.
Just like last time, the enormous river carried away everything, engulfing the Chaos Entity refining the pill and the several nearby Chaos Spirit Clan members into it.
Immediately after, a violent roar mixed with a fearsome chaotic blast rushed into Yang Kai’s mind.
The Soul Warming Lotus promptly responded, radiating colourful light and blocking the Soul attack.
“Damn it…” Thunder Shadow cried out in alarm, but he didn’t make another move. Obviously, he had been dazed by this roar.
Fang Tian Ci also found it extremely unbearable. The Chaos Spirit King hadn’t even made a move yet, but his voice was already so powerful. It just showed how strong it was.
Suppressing his discomfort, Fang Tian Ci grabbed Thunder Shadow’s Soul and rushed into the Soul Warming Lotus.
While the two were protecting themselves, the Chaos Spirit King’s attack was already upon Yang Kai while Yang Kai had just finished sweeping the Chaos Spirit Clan members into the Space-Time River and was about to escape.
An earth-shattering Chaotic Force suddenly blasted Yang Kai, shattering the Void around him. A muffled grunt escaped Yang Kai’s lips before he promptly summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and thrust it towards the Chaos Spirit King.
In this brief confrontation, Yang Kai’s figure was sent flying while the Chaos Spirit King had to take a few steps back.
The next moment, Yang Kai grabbed the Space-Time River and instantly surged his Space Principle again. As he took a step forward, he disappeared and reappeared in the distance.
An enraged roar came from behind him as a powerful aura rushed over at extreme speed. Obviously, the Chaos Spirit King was already chasing after him.
Yang Kai finally experienced how helpless Xiao You felt. Being chased by such a strong existence was not a good experience, but what made him feel even more helpless was that he couldn’t really fight back against the Chaos Spirit King.
While he was fleeing, he shook the Space-Time River, and under the impact of the various Dao Strengths, the Chaos Entity and Chaos Spirit Clan members that were caught up in the river quickly dissolved.
After a short while, Yang Kai plucked out a pill, stored it away, and fled.
Inside the Soul Warming Lotus, the two passengers felt sluggish. A look of lingering fear could be found on Thunder Shadow’s face as he muttered, “That Chaos Spirit King is strong! But, it is quite unlucky to have encountered you, Big Brother.”
Twice, the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill had been snatched away by Yang Kai. The Universe Furnace had appeared so many times, but it was unlikely that such a thing had ever happened before. From this point alone, this Chaos Spirit King was truly unlucky.
Regardless of whether the Chaos Spirit King was unlucky or not, its anger was obvious at this moment. The last time it had lost its pill, it had relentlessly chased after Xiao You. As a result, Xiao You had to spend a great deal of effort to escape from it. From this, it could be seen just how persistent the Chaos Spirit King was towards the Supreme Grade Pills.
As for Yang Kai, now that he got his hands on the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, it wasn’t difficult for him to escape from this Chaos Spirit King. How could he not be able to do what Xiao You could? All he needed to do was use his Instantaneous Movement a few times and this Chaos Spirit King wouldn’t be able to find him.
However, he didn’t do so; rather, he kept the Chaos Spirit King at arm’s length, occasionally using his Space Secret Techniques to increase the distance between them. Sometimes, he even exposed his aura so that the other party could pursue him.
Thunder Shadow couldn’t understand what was going on and asked, “Big Brother, what are you trying to do with the Chaos Spirit King?”
If he was not planning anything, why would he lead it on? He could have easily shaken it off by now.
Before Yang Kai could answer, Fang Tian Ci understood and explained, “It’s to prevent others from running into this Chaos Spirit King and suffering some kind of mishap.”
The Black Ink Clan in the Universe Furnace World had suffered great losses in the last battle. Of the two Royal Lords, one was dead and the other was seriously injured. Even the Pseudo-Royal Lords who managed to escape were mostly heavily wounded.
As long as the Human Race Masters were careful enough, even if they ran into the Black Ink Clan, they would not be in any kind of grave danger.
The only ones that could pose a serious threat to the Human Race were beings like this Chaos Spirit King, especially the one who was chasing after Yang Kai. This Chaos Spirit King happened to be enraged, so if Yang Kai were to shake it off now, and if any other Human were to encounter it, they would be doomed!
That was why Yang Kai stayed within the range of its senses so that it wouldn’t escape his control. This was also a form of protection for other Humans.
So long as it was within his power, Yang Kai would naturally do it. In any case, it wouldn’t hinder him from doing other things.
After listening to Fang Tian Ci’s explanation, Thunder Shadow finally understood, “Big Brother is very thoughtful.” He couldn’t help but mutter, “You Humans are really prudent”
Most Monster Race on Myriad Monster World were bold and vicious. They only had one principle when they encountered a crisis, overcome it by any means necessary. If they got into an argument, they would immediately resort to their teeth and claws; so, how could they have such deep and complex thoughts?
No wonder the Early Ancient Era Monster Race met with a downfall and the Human Race had gradually risen.
Ignoring this criticism, Fang Tian Ci suddenly asked, “Big Brother, did you notice something strange?”
Yang Kai instead asked back, “What is it?”
“There seems to be something wrong with the number of Chaos Spirit Kings inside the Universe Furnace.”
“You think so too?” Yang Kai raised his brow. He had also noticed this problem before, but he hadn’t given it too much thought.
“What’s wrong with the number of Chaos Spirit Kings?” Thunder Shadow interrupted, totally confused.
Fang Tian Ci simply continued, “According to Big Brother, nine Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were formed when the Universe Furnace opened this time. Including the one in Big Brother’s possession, six of them have already been accounted for, leaving only three which are missing.”
“That’s right.” Inside the Soul Warming Lotus, a thoughtful look appeared on Thunder Shadow’s face.
“The Universe Furnace has undergone eight Grand Dao evolutions, so the ninth one should be happening soon. After nine Grand Dao evolutions, the Universe Furnace will be closed,” Fang Tian Ci added.
Thunder Shadow nodded again.
“Once the Universe Furnace is closed, the three missing pills will neither fall into the hands of the Human Race nor the Black Ink Clan, but will instead belong to the Chaos Spirit Clan. It can even be said that the three pills are currently in the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan, but we don’t know where they are.”
Thunder Shadow looked at him, furrowing its brow as a befuddled look appeared on its face, “What are you trying to say?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Second Brother is saying that since these three pills are now in the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan, shouldn’t three Chaos Spirit Kings have been born by now?”
“You mean… they haven’t?” Thunder Shadow’s voice gradually became feebler and feebler.
Fang Tian Ci further added, “Three Chaos Spirit Kings should be born with the opening of the Universe Furnace this time, but what about the past? Each time the Universe Furnace opens, some Chaos Spirit Kings should have been created. But how many Chaos Spirit Kings have we seen since we entered the Universe Furnace?”
It was just one!
But according to Fang Tian Ci’s speculations, there should be a lot more Chaos Spirit Kings in this Universe Furnace, at least a few dozen.
Except, judging by the current situation, this Universe Furnace World definitely didn’t have that many Chaos Spirit Kings, otherwise, they wouldn’t have encountered only one until now.
“Perhaps there are other Chaos Spirit Kings, it’s just that we haven’t discovered them yet. But there are definitely not that many Chaos Spirit Kings in this Universe Furnace World,” Fang Tian Ci concluded.
Thunder Shadow thought for a moment before asking, “What does this have to do with the current situation?”
Fang Tian Ci chuckled wryly, “It doesn’t matter, we were just casually discussing.”
Thunder Shadow couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, thinking that these two were talking about something he hadn’t realized. He always believed that he wasn’t stupid…
Yang Kai then stated, “Perhaps the effects of the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill on the Chaos Entities aren’t as great as we think. Even if those mindless Chaos Entities can refine pills, they may not be able to immediately become a Chaos Spirit King. Rather, they may just become a relatively powerful Chaos Spirit!”
The Chaos Spirits also varied in strength. Some were as strong as Eighth-Order Masters while others were only as powerful as Second or Third-Order Masters. The gap between them was enormous.
It might be also because of this that not many Chaos Spirit Kings had been born even after so many Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills fell into the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan!
As for the exact truth, Yang Kai didn’t dare to jump to conclusions, but this conjecture was likely close to correct.
Thunder Shadow asked, “Then, the Chaos Spirit King is relentlessly chasing us all the way just for this pill that might not even help a Chaos Entity under him advance to become a Chaos Spirit King?”
Yang Kai laughed, “In the end, we were the ones who snatched it. If it wants to pursue us, let it.”
Saying so, he suddenly turned and flew off in a certain direction. The Chaos Spirit King also pursued right behind him like a shadow.
In that direction, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, who happened to be flying through the void, suddenly tensed up as a sense of crisis gripped his heart. A moment later, a powerful and fearsome aura locked onto him.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord suddenly turned his head and saw a streak of light shooting straight towards him from a distance. That streak of light happened to be flickering and the Void around it was rippling.
Sensing that familiar and shocking aura, the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s soul nearly left his body as he shouted in panic, “Yang Kai!”
[Damn my rotten luck!]
This Pseudo-Royal Lord couldn’t figure out how he had encountered this killing star in this place!
In the last battle, after Mo Na Ye fled, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a crushing defeat, and the Black Ink Clansmen had scattered in all directions.
Fortunately, the Human Race didn’t have enough manpower to wipe them out. He happened to be quite lucky as he was not targeted by Yang Xue at that time, giving him a chance to escape that disaster with his life. He had been on the run ever since and had not stopped for a moment. Even if he ran into some Humans along the way, he would try his best to conceal himself so as to avoid exposing his whereabouts.
According to the information he had obtained from the Black Ink Disciples, the Universe Furnace would close soon. He had entered the Universe Furnace World from the Barren Territory; so, as long as he waited for the Universe Furnace to close, he would be able to safely return there. By then, the Human Race would not be able to do anything to him, no matter how many Ninth-Order Masters they had gained.
His journey had been smooth and uneventful so far, and after a long period of safety, he believed that the storm had already passed.
But much to his horror, he ran into the most difficult Human to deal with.
He had also suffered injuries in the last battle, but his wounds weren’t that serious. So, at this moment, his strength had not suffered that much. After a brief moment of fear, the Pseudo-Royal Lord became solemn and roared, “Come!”
In front of such a Human who was proficient in the Dao of Space, escaping was an unrealistic dream. The Pseudo-Royal Lord immediately made the most appropriate response, taking up an offensive stance to let Yang Kai know that even if he killed him, he would have to pay a huge price!
A Pseudo-Royal Lord was also a Royal Lord, only slightly weaker than a true Royal Lord. How could he allow himself to be trampled upon?
Seeing the Pseudo-Royal Lord in front of him assume an aggressive posture, Yang Kai was slightly surprised, but he did not take it too seriously. While the other party let out an angry roar, Yang Kai quickly closed the distance between them. After reaching a certain critical point, he raised his hand and made a grabbing motion, causing Dao Strengths to undulate around him.
The next moment, the Space-Time River gushed out with crashing sounds. The enormous river was like a whip, one end held in Yang Kai’s hand as it lashed straight towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord.
For the Black Ink Clansmen who had participated in the last battle, the Space-Time River was still fresh in their memories. A Pseudo-Royal Lord got swept into the river at that time before Yang Kai had even broken through. Yang Kai then dove into the river and slaughtered that Pseudo-Royal Lord within a few breaths.
Although Yang Kai had only managed to kill that Pseudo-Royal Lord at that time due to a sneak attack, it still showed how strange this river was.
Mo Na Ye also suffered a great loss inside this strange river.
Seeing Yang Kai summoning this enormous river once more, the Pseudo-Royal Lord immediately became vigilant. He let out a furious roar as Black Ink Strength surged around him before he punched straight towards the river.
The great river was shaken and monstrous waves rose and fell one after another. The impact almost blew the river in half.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord’s face lit up with joy, but the next moment, his expression took a turn for the worse, because although it looked like that river was about to snap in half, it ultimately didn’t. The river was like a whip, it bent a few times before ruthlessly lashing out at him again.
Dao Strengths surged violently as the Grand Daos evolved and developed. The Pseudo-Royal Lord was struck so hard that it knocked the senses out of him. In an instant, he lost his consciousness as a whip-like river wrapped around him.
Caught off guard, the Pseudo-Royal Lord was engulfed by the Space-Time River. The enormous river seemed to contain an extremely strange power while destabilizing his mind and perception.
He immediately understood why his companion had been killed by Yang Kai, who had yet to break through at that time. After having fallen in this strange river, his strength must have been greatly suppressed, making it difficult for him to display his full power.
He wanted to struggle his way out, but an irresistible force swept over and dragged him along.
“Off you go!” Yang Kai shouted, and with a flick of his wrist, the Pseudo-Royal Lord who was bound by the whip-like river was sent flying. Afterwards, Yang Kai flew off at an extremely high speed without even looking back even once.
In the rear, the Pseudo-Royal Lord looked completely dumbfounded. He was unable to understand what had just happened. Did Yang Kai come here just to humiliate him? If not, why had he not killed him?
In that kind of situation, he knew that there was no way he could escape from Yang Kai’s hands. Perhaps if he fought to the death, he could make Yang Kai pay a price, but it definitely wouldn’t be too high.
[Unexpectedly, this killing star only teased me a little and quickly fled, but why…]
The next moment, he understood.
As soon as he stabilized himself, he felt an extremely sharp and ferocious aura rapidly closing in on him from behind. Furthermore, this aura happened to be even stronger than the Ninth-Order Yang Kai.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord hurriedly looked back, and instantly saw a figure charging towards him. He had felt this aura and had also seen who it belonged to from a distance in the past. Now that he came face to face with it, it was even more terrifying.
“The Chaos Spirit King!?” He was struck with panic.
In the blink of an eye, the Chaos Spirit King was already upon him. The Chaos Spirit King’s anger was as fierce as an erupting volcano, but it didn’t pay any attention to this Pseudo-Royal Lord who was blocking his path. It just casually threw a light punch at him as if it was pushing aside a blockade. It then brushed past him and went chasing after the killing star.
“Pu…” The Pseudo-Royal Lord’s figure doubled over and he spurted out a mouthful of black blood. At the same time, his aura fiercely declined as Black Ink Strength started uncontrollably dissipating.
Even though it was just a casual punch, the power behind an enraged Chaos Spirit King’s attack could still not be underestimated. In addition, the Pseudo-Royal Lord had just been dazed by Yang Kai’s whip and was not able to defend himself properly. He was caught off guard and seriously injured in one blow.
When he looked up, he saw the Chaos Spirit King’s figure gradually disappear from his sight. He was delighted at the sight of this and could not help but laugh, taking pleasure in his enemy’s misfortune despite the tremendous pain he was in.
[Yang Kai is being chased by the Chaos Spirit King! No wonder he didn’t have time to pay attention to me.] At this moment, an old saying of the Human Race flashed in his mind, ‘The wicked will be punished by the wicked!’
[Yang Kai, aren’t you amazing? Haven’t you already broken through to the Ninth Order? So what if you’re strong!? In the face of that damn Chaos Spirit King, all you can do is flee!]
He immediately prayed in his heart that the Chaos Spirit King could put in some more effort and kill Yang Kai!
However, a smile had just bloomed on his lips when it suddenly froze.
Ripples suddenly appeared one after another in the Void right before him, just like when a stone is thrown into a calm lake. As these ripples spread outward, a figure materialized out of thin air.
In just one step, the figure was standing right before him.
“You…” The Pseudo-Royal Lord’s expression suddenly changed for the worse. At this moment, he realized he had made a mistake.
“You seem quite happy,” Yang Kai, who had just returned, looked at the Pseudo-Royal Lord with curiosity.
The other party didn’t answer, he just quickly turned around and fled.
Had he fought Yang Kai to the death when they just met, he would have been able to bite off a piece of his flesh before dying. But now that he had been seriously injured by the Chaos Spirit King, this notion had already been quashed.
He was not this killing star’s opponent even at his peak, so how could he resist when he was seriously injured.
[He did it on purpose! This killing star definitely did this on purpose! He used the Chaos Spirit King to weaken me so he could circle back using his Space Secret Technique to easily finish me off. He never had any intention of letting me live!]
“Where do you think you’re going?” Yang Kai shouted impatiently. The Chaos Spirit King had noticed his aura and had already changed directions to chase after him. If he didn’t want to fight with the Chaos Spirit King, he had to end this battle quickly.
As soon as Yang Kai spoke, he manipulated Space Principles, causing the surrounding void to become viscous, like a swamp, making it difficult for the Pseudo-Royal Lord to move.
Yang Kai already had his spear in hand, which he fiercely thrust towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord.
The next moment, a ferocious aura shot straight towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord from behind, forcing him to turn around and face it head-on. The last thing that entered his eyes was a rapidly expanding spear tip!
Pitch-black blood splashed out as the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s head blew apart. The two figures brushed past each other, but Yang Kai didn’t stop even for a moment and continued moving ahead, leaving the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s corpse behind him that still maintained a defensive posture.
A few breaths later, the pursuing Chaos Spirit King once again passed by this place and casually waved its fist. The corpse blocking its path blew into smithereens.
Inside the Soul Warming Lotus, Thunder Shadow muttered to Fang Tian Ci, “Big Brother is too sinister.”
Fang Tian Ci earnestly stated, “In battle, there’s no such thing as being too sinister.”
It wouldn’t be difficult for Yang Kai to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord with his current strength, but he would still need to fight for a while to achieve that. A Pseudo-Royal Lord could barely be considered an existence on par with a Royal Lord, but because they were made using a Black Ink Clan’s Source Fusion Technique and were not true Royal Lords, it was difficult for them to display the full might of a Royal Lord.
With an existence like the Chaos Spirit King chasing after him, it was naturally not wise to fight with a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
On the other hand, Yang Kai could easily eliminate his opponent after weakening the Pseudo-Royal Lord by using the Chaos Spirit King, then circling back to eliminate him.
This was an example of lifting a heavy weight using borrowed strength. The chaser had unknowingly become Yang Kai’s accomplice, and if Yang Kai got the chance to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord without any effort, why should he not take it?
Of course, it was only because the Chaos Spirit King’s intelligence was not high enough that this was possible. If it was any other Master with normal intelligence, Yang Kai’s plan would not have worked at all.
Just like before, the chase continued.
Their chase flipped the Universe Furnace World upside down.
Yang Kai didn’t have a set direction. In any case, he was just leading the Chaos Spirit King on a wild chase around the Universe Furnace World.
If he ran into someone from the Black Ink Clan, he would kill them right away, but if he encountered a Human, he would take a detour and warn them in advance, lest they get caught up in this storm.
Yang Kai might be slightly weaker than the Chaos Spirit King, but if he were to focus on escaping, the Chaos Spirit King would not be able to do anything to him. As luck would have it, the Chaos Spirit King’s sentience wasn’t very developed. It was certain that Yang Kai had snatched the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, so it kept chasing after him relentlessly.
The number of Black Ink Clan survivors Yang Kai encountered started to decrease over time. Of course, it might have been because they had been killed, but the bigger reason was that the survivors had gone into hiding.
Right now, things were extremely unfavourable for the Black Ink Clan in the Universe Furnace World. The Human Race had four Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had split up to hunt down any Black Ink Clansmen they could find. On the other hand, the only Royal Lord on the Black Ink Clan’s side was heavily injured and was nowhere to be found.
So, how could the Black Ink Clan still have the strength to resist the Humans in this kind of situation? Naturally, they used all kinds of means to hide themselves, waiting for the Universe Furnace World to close.
Although most of them knew that another bloody battle would break out when the Universe Furnace closed, they did not have much choice in the matter.
As time passed, Yang Kai became slightly disappointed.
There was no trace of Mo Na Ye, nor was there any trace of the other three Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills.
The Universe Furnace World was quite vast. Perhaps there were some places he had yet to explore, or perhaps the three pills had already been refined, or perhaps they had fallen into the hands of some Black Ink Clansman or Human. Everything was possible.
As for Mo Na Ye, if he was Hell-bent on hiding, it wouldn’t be easy to find him.
Yang Kai was in no rush though. He could end Mo Na Ye once the Universe Furnace closed.
During this trip to the Universe Furnace, the Human Race had not only dealt the Black Ink Clan a severe blow, they had also gained four new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Yang Kai also got his hand on another Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill which he could bring back and give to Mi Jing Lun. In short, this trip was worth it.
At some point, the Grand Dao within this World suddenly started undulating before the last remnants of the Chaos rapidly disappeared.
The ninth Grand Dao evolution was finally taking place!
After this evolution, the Universe Furnace would soon close.
As for the Chaos Spirit King who had been chasing after Yang Kai all this while, it seemed to have also noticed this and became even more agitated, pushing its speed even higher.
Be that as it may, it had never been able to close the distance between them from the moment it had started chasing Yang Kai. No matter how hard it tried, it was useless.
“Second Brother, take the helm!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted.
Inside the Soul Warming Lotus, the corner of Fang Tian Ci’s mouth twitched.
[What does Big Brother think of his body?] But after giving it another thought, he realized that it was quite appropriate to address his physical body as a ship on which the three Brothers were riding.
Without further thought, Fang Tian Ci immediately took control of the body.
However, he didn’t have full control over it, mainly because Yang Kai was still occupying the majority of his physical body, so he was unable to control it too smoothly.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai was on guard against him, but rather that he needed to focus on something else. Fang Tian Ci only needed to control the body to escape the Chaos Spirit King’s pursuit, which didn’t require much fine control.
The handover between them was extremely smooth. From an outsider’s point of view, it was impossible to spot any change in Yang Kai. He was still fleeing, and the Chaos Spirit King chasing after him was completely helpless.
But at this moment, Yang Kai was completely focused on sensing the changes in the surroundings.
When the Universe Furnace World underwent its ninth Grand Dao evolution, the Grand Daos in this World started undulating as the Chaos completely evolved into 10,000 Grand Daos. After the ninth evolution, the Universe Furnace World would finally reach perfection.
At this moment, Yang Kai also summoned his own Space-Time River and urged his Dao Strengths, churning them and studying the endless mysteries that appeared.
Inside the small Space-Time River, all Dao Strengths converged, and under Yang Kai’s control, various Dao Strengths constantly blended and fused, devouring and evolving before finally transforming into Five Elements Dao Strengths.
The Five Elements Dao Strengths mutually restrained and supported each other, rapidly transforming into Yin and Yang.
As Yin and Yang circled around each other, Time and Space became twisted and ultimately evolved into Chaos.
All Dao Strengths converged into one, and ultimately became Chaos!
This was a mysterious process Yang Kai had comprehended from the Infinite River; and at this moment, he had thoroughly confirmed this point using his own Dao Strengths’ evolution.
At this moment, the Space-Time River circling around him was no longer the Space-Time River, but a Chaos River.
The moment this Chaos River completely stabilized, a sudden change occurred.
As if a drop of water had been poured into a sizzling oil, the Dao Strengths of the entire Universe Furnace World began to violently undulate, and the Infinite River that ran through the World also began to violently surge, sending waves as high as the sky everywhere, sweeping across everything.
While the Grand Dao of the Universe Furnace World started evolving for the ninth and final time, whether it was the Humans who were searching for the traces of the Black Ink Clan or the Black Ink Clan who were hiding themselves, everyone had already gotten used to it.
After all, this kind of thing had already happened eight times before. Besides the first time when there was some surprise and confusion, everyone completely disregarded it from the second time on. This was the profound mystery of the Universe Furnace, there was no need to pay too much attention to it.
Except, this ninth evolution appeared to be different from any of the previous ones. Under the surging Grand Daos, the entire Universe Furnace World was shaking. At this moment, it was as if something was changing, but no one could see it clearly, nor could they explain it.
The Infinite River that ran through the entire Universe Furnace World, from shallow to deep, contained the mysteries of Chaos evolving into 10,000 Grand Daos.
Every evolution of the Grand Daos was also a manifestation of the mysteries of Chaos giving birth to 10,000 Grand Daos.
The Universe Furnace seemed to be demonstrating the truth of the Grand Dao to all living beings, the essence of the world itself.
When the last Grand Dao evolution occurred, Yang Kai used his own Space-Time River as a foundation and prompted the 10,000 Grand Daos to revert to Chaos. By doing just the opposite, it was no different from erecting a different flag amid this surging tide.
Vaguely, he seemed to have touched something.
At this moment, Yang Kai felt an inexplicable pressure on him from all directions, causing the Space-Time River around him to violently shake, almost collapsing it.
If one followed the Heavens, they would achieve twice the results with half the effort, but if one defied the Heavens, the opposite would happen.
What Yang Kai was currently doing was tantamount to opposing the natural order of the Universe Furnace World. When the last Grand Daos’ evolution was taking place, any act of rebellion would naturally be suppressed by this World.
The speed at which he was fleeing suddenly slowed down, but the Chaos Spirit King chasing after him didn’t appear to be affected by it at all; it was quickly closing the distance between them.
Fang Tian Ci, who had taken control of a portion of Yang Kai’s body, and was running for his life, was greatly alarmed. He might not have any idea about the exact cause behind this sudden change, but he knew that it had something to do with his main body.
Gritting his teeth, he quickly prompted Space Principles and executed Instantaneous Movement, but he didn’t teleport too far.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was completely focused on maintaining his own Space-Time River. The exploration of the Infinite River had allowed him to glimpse at some things, but he was unable to thoroughly understand them. If he wanted to verify his theory, he could only rely on this method.
He had been meaning to do this for a long time, but the Chaos Spirit King that was chasing him right now had become a potential threat. There was nothing he could do about it either. When he snatched back the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, it was destined that he would not be able to shake off this Chaos Spirit King, otherwise, others would definitely suffer because of him.
The long river around Yang Kai kept shaking. It appeared to be on the verge of collapse, but Yang Kai continued to persevere, and soon, a look of joy overtook his face.
Because the Grand Dao evolution, which should have started and ended in a flash, had not disappeared, and was instead showing signs of intensifying.
This was undeniable proof that his actions had some effect. Although he was going against the entire World with his might alone, as the saying went, even a single rat dropping could ruin a pot of porridge.
The current Yang Kai was that dropping that had fallen into this Universe Furnace World.
The Grand Daos undulated even more fiercely, shaking the Universe Furnace World non-stop. Whether it was the Human Race or the Black Ink Clan, all of them were shocked and confused, not knowing what was happening.
At this moment, Fang Tian Ci’s voice rang out, “Big Brother, I can’t hold on much longer!”
From the start, he had only been in control of a small portion of Yang Kai’s body, and Yang Kai’s actions made his job even more difficult. Even if he used a Space Secret Technique, he was unable to teleport far. Meanwhile, the Chaos Spirit King kept relentlessly chasing after them, closing the distance to a dangerous degree!
In a moment, he might fall into the range of the Chaos Spirit King’s attacks. If that really happened, Yang Kai would not be able to do anything, he might even possibly put himself in danger.
Fang Tian Ci shouted his plea, but Yang Kai did not give any answer. It remained unknown whether he heard him or not.
Yang Kai also felt like he couldn’t hold on any longer. In the Universe Furnace World right now, when Chaos was giving birth to 10,000 Grand Daos, filling every step of this place, he could only rely on his own strength to go against it. So, he was really under intense pressure.
He didn’t even know if his actions were meaningful or not, but he had indeed caught a glimpse of some things in the Infinite River. If he didn’t verify his speculations now, he might never have another chance in his life.
He didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity, so he had no choice but to persevere.
Fortunately, his Divine Dragon Body had become stronger than ever after he had broken through to the Ninth Order. Had he still been in the Eighth Order, it would have been difficult for him to hold even this long.
At this point, every single breath felt like millions of years.
Suddenly, a fearsome attack came flying at him from behind. Apparently, the Chaos Spirit King had already reached the range it could begin attacking him.
It was also at this moment that Yang Kai, who was fully focused on circulating his strength, suddenly saw a massive, winding river.
Naturally, this was the legendary Infinite River that ran through the entire Universe Furnace World!
As a matter of fact, although this river ran through the entire Universe Furnace World, it wasn’t everywhere. Yang Kai was still quite a distance away from the Infinite River.
However, he noticed that the Space inside the Universe Furnace World had become unstable at this moment.
He wasn’t the only one who noticed this. At this moment, all the surviving Humans and Black Ink Clansmen saw this enormous river appear, flowing from an unknown source towards the end of this World.
The great river happened to be shaking, and beside it, tributaries that had never been seen before and had never been detected by any living being rapidly appeared one after another. If the massive river was a giant tree, then these tributaries that had suddenly appeared were branches…
It was difficult to calculate how many branches there were, as there were too many to count.
These tributaries flowed continuously and quickly filled the entire Universe Furnace World like a spider web. In these tributaries, what flowed was the 10,000 Grand Daos after they had evolved!
This was a remarkable sight to behold!
All the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen stared at this sudden sight in a daze. Some of them even reached out to touch a tributary close at hand, but their hands went right through it as if they were touching something illusory. There was no resistance at all.
The Universe Furnace World had undergone momentous change, but no one knew the cause behind it.
At this moment, Yang Kai, the architect behind this chaos, was coughing up blood. The Chaos Spirit King’s attack was extremely powerful and even he was unable to withstand it.
However, no anger could be seen in his eyes, rather they were shining brightly.
The moment these tributaries appeared, he knew that his previous speculations were correct!
The Universe Furnace truly existed and was hidden somewhere in this World. Its profoundness lay in its ability to derive all the Grand Daos from Chaos. Whether it was the nine Grand Dao evolutions, or the existence of the Infinite River, they were the undeniable proof.
Finding the true body of the Universe Furnace, on the other hand, was a whole other problem.
Since ancient times, every appearance of the Universe Furnace drove generations of Great Experts to enter it. Did they not think of searching for the real body of the Universe Furnace? Of course, they did!
But no one had ever found it.
Yang Kai also was not sure if he could find it, but all he could do was give it a try. If he found it, it would naturally be a reason to rejoice, but if he couldn’t find it, he wouldn’t suffer any losses either. The only problem hindering him was the Chaos Spirit King that was chasing after him. It was a nuisance!
Fortunately, now that his strength had dramatically increased, it wasn’t that troublesome.
Now the only issue before Yang Kai was how to go about his search.
Since he had managed to glimpse the mystery of how the Universe Furnace derived all the Grand Daos from Chaos, he figured he should do the opposite to create a kind of interference that would hopefully reveal some clues he could trace. With this plan in his mind, Yang Kai let himself loose.
No one had ever done such a thing before, or even mastered so many Grand Daos like him.
As the saying went, ‘When in doubt, it’s better to take a step back. Who knows, you might see the situation clearly’.
Going against the tide of the entire Universe Furnace World was equal to going against the Heavens’ Will, but it also allowed one to see more clearly.
When the tributaries appeared, the Space-Time River around Yang Kai’s body started shaking. To others, the enormous Infinite River might seem like an illusory river, but it looked completely different to Yang Kai, who was surrounded by his own Space-Time River.
Flowing in these tributaries were the 10,000 Grand Daos that were born from Chaos.
Whereas his current Space-Time River was the amalgamation of 10,000 Grand Daos returning to Chaos. The two were completely opposite to each other.
If these tributaries were like closed doors, then the Space-Time River was the key to opening them.
The next moment, the Space-Time River surged before it carried Yang Kai into the nearest tributary.
Right then, another fearsome attack shot towards Yang Kai. The Chaos Spirit King had already caught up to him and naturally, when it saw Yang Kai rush into the tributary, it refused to give up. However, no matter what it did, it was unable to harm Yang Kai in the slightest and it couldn’t even enter the tributary either. All it could do was helplessly watch Yang Kai rapidly drift away following the tributary’s flow.
The Chaos Spirit King chased after him for a while longer before finally losing sight of Yang Kai. Boundless anger surged within it as it let out a long roar, unable to contain its rage!
Inside the tributary, Yang Kai, who was protected by the Space-Time River, seemed to have transformed into an undercurrent, drifting along the flow, surrounded by extremely rich Dao Strengths.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t in the mood to refine and absorb them at this moment, mainly because he had obtained ample benefits from the Infinite River; refining and absorbing them now wouldn’t have much effect.
Furthermore, he even had a large amount of Dao Strengths sealed in his Small Universe, ready to be refined by him or others.
He had no idea where he was going, but if his guess was right, then the end or source of the tributary should be the location of the Universe Furnace.
Also, it was completely unrealistic to go against the current as the resistance was too high. He had no choice but to follow the flow.
Just as Yang Kai entered the tributary, the Universe Furnace World suddenly underwent a great change, folding the various Spaces and stacking them upon each other. The Humans who went searching for traces of the Black Ink Clan, and the Black Ink Clan who were hiding in the shadows, no matter who it was, all of them could feel that the surroundings had changed.
After a short while, every surviving outsider felt as if they had entered an independent Void. Even if they had companions nearby, they found it extremely hard to approach them. It was as if the opposite party was in a totally different Space.
“The Universe Furnace is about to close,” somewhere in the void, Blood Crow immediately frowned and warned when the Six Paths Formation he was part of collapsed for no reason. He had experienced this before, so after noticing the changes in his surroundings, he immediately understood what was about to happen.
Hearing Blood Crow’s words, the veteran Eighth-Order Masters were puzzled, “Didn’t you say that we’ll still have some time after the ninth evolution?”
Blood Crow shook his head, “It was like that last time, but it’s a little different this time. Perhaps it is different every time.”
He had participated in the appearance of the Universe Furnace only once, so how could he know if there was any kind of pattern? Judging by the current situation, the Universe Furnace would indeed be closing very soon.
At that time, all the outsiders would be expelled from this independent world and returned to their respective entrance points.
When that time came, another war would break out, and this time, the Human Race had already made preparations. They would definitely inflict heavy losses on the Black Ink Clan!
After the last battle, once the group of six had finished recuperating, they started hunting around in a Battle Formation. During this time, they had some modest gains.
Originally, they thought that there was still some time before the Universe Furnace closed, and that they would be able to make more progress, but at this moment, they decided not to ruminate too much on it.
The six Eighth-Order Masters came from the various entrances of the Universe Furnace, so once the Universe Furnace was closed, they would be forced to return to different places. Immediately, each of them cupped their fists and bid their farewells before settling down to adjust their breathing and recover their strength.
Not only them, but all of the Human Race Masters who were still active appeared to have noticed it. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and started getting ready for the imminent battle.
In comparison, the Black Ink Clansmen who were relatively well-informed were a little uneasy and restless. Although they knew that this day would eventually come, when it really did, they discovered that they had not been prepared.
The news they had received from the Black Ink Disciples had left them deeply concerned. They didn’t know what kind of terrible situation they would face after the Universe Furnace closed.
In the end, they had to return to various Great Territory Battlefields. After the Universe Furnace closed down, whether they lived or died would all depend on the outside battle situation between the Black Ink Clan Army and the Human Race Army.
Moreover, many of the Black Ink Clansmen were oblivious to this truth…
While the undercurrents were surging, Yang Kai, protected by his Space-Time River, followed along the flow of the Infinite River tributary. He had no idea where he was going or whether his actions had any meaning, but now that things had reached this point, he had no choice but to follow through.
This stream was filled with an extremely rich and pure Dao Strength, so pure that it had condensed into a liquid form that was flowing in the tributary.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. Previously, his actions had given birth to a strange change in the Universe Furnace; spiderweb-like tributaries had filled the entire Universe Furnace World in the blink of an eye. This scene had not gone unnoticed by him.
The reason he was able to enter the tributary was because he had used his own comprehension of the evolution of Grand Daos, and used Dao Strengths to stimulate the 10,000 Grand Daos to revert back to Chaos. If the tributary was a locked door, then his method was the key to opening it.
Even if others had seen these tributaries, they could forget about entering them without the corresponding means.
Although Yang Kai had used this opportunity to escape the pursuit of the Chaos Spirit King, he had no idea what would transpire next. Left with no other options, all he could do was focus on sensing the changes in his surroundings with rapt attention.
The flow of Dao Strengths was extremely fast, but when it came to the tributary, its flow was billowing and the currents violent.
Being in such a tributary, whether it was Time or Space, everything had become extremely chaotic. Although the surroundings were filled with extremely rich Dao Strengths, one’s vision was filled with impossible sights.
Yang Kai instantly understood that the Universe Furnace was about to close!
[According to Blood Crow, the Universe Furnace would close soon after the ninth evolution, but this period seems to be a lot shorter. Could it be because of me?]
At this moment, Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to think about these things. All he wanted to know was where he would eventually end up if he allowed himself to drift like this!
Perhaps the end of this tributary would allow him to discover some unknown truths!
Time and Space became even more chaotic. Yang Kai found it difficult to even calculate how long he had been inside this stream. At some point, the Space-Time River around him seemed to have suffered a huge impact, instantly shaking it and destabilizing his body. The impact was so huge that it sent his World Force and blood into turmoil.
Yang Kai’s face turned pale.
For him to suffer such an impact with his current cultivation realm meant that it was comparable to an all-out attack from a Royal Lord.
Sensing the source of the impact, Yang Kai instinctively reached out towards it. When he closed his fist, there was something in his hand.
It was a very small object, but when he opened his fist and took a close look at it, a strange expression appeared on his face.
Much to his surprise, it was a grain of sand!
Moreover, he had seen this kind of grain of sand before…
He had seen them at the bottom of Infinite River, countless of them at that, which had gathered at the riverbed.
These grains of sand were not some simple sand particles, but rather some kind of embryonic Universe World; however, because of the massive pressure and rich Dao Strength in the Infinite River, these Universe Worlds were only in their nascent form and looked like sand in a river bed.
Surprisingly, such a thing had actually appeared in this tributary…
The Infinite River that ran through the entire Universe Furnace World was the main river, and all the tributaries were part of it. Now that the grain of sand that should have existed in the depths of the main river had appeared, didn’t that mean that something inside the main river had been forced out?
Realizing this, Yang Kai’s expression changed slightly. The tributary he was in… was probably not as safe as he had imagined.
He clearly remembered that a large number of mystical Celestial Phenomena were forming inside the Infinite River. These Celestial Phenomena may have looked small and unimposing inside the Infinite River, but they were actually filled with all kinds of strange and dangerous anomalies.
[It was just a grain of sand that hit me this time, but what if it was a Celestial Phenomenon…] Yang Kai’s head immediately started spinning.
Although he was in a crisis, he was still extremely excited. The fact that things had been pushed out of the main river and into the tributary meant that the Dao Strength turbulence had swept through the entire Universe Furnace, even the Infinite River was unable to avoid it. He could not help but be excited about what astonishing discovery he would find at the end of this tributary.
Realizing that the environment he was in was not that safe though, Yang Kai became more cautious as he meticulously scanned his surroundings, lest he get pulled into some strange Celestial Phenomenon.
Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened, though quite a bit of sand was indeed flowing towards him along with the current. Yang Kai, who was already prepared for this, easily resolved the issue.
While Yang Kai was moving along the tributary towards an unknown future, the Universe Furnace World closed down amidst violently shaking, the survivors disappearing under the great repulsive force one after another.
Azure Sun Territory was a frontline battlefield where the Humans fought against the Black Ink Clan. Countless from both sides had sacrificed their lives here over the past thousands of years. There was not a single corner in this place where the blood had not been spilled and someone had not lost their lives.
But despite the numerous battles fought on this Great Territory Battlefield over thousands of years, it was still orderly and controllable.
However, a few decades ago, when the Universe Furnace suddenly appeared, a true war broke out!
No battle of that scale and intensity had been fought for thousands of years.
Countless Black Ink Clansmen fought in that battle, including a few Pseudo-Royal Lords. While on the Human Race’s side, Ninth-Order Masters, who had long been in hiding, personally stepped forward to meet the enemy.
Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but things had slowly stabilized after a large number of Masters from both sides entered the Universe Furnace.
More than half of the Pseudo-Royal Lords had entered, but the Human Race’s Ninth-Order Master had not. As such, how could the Black Ink Clan be their opponents now?
Over the next 20 years, the Human Race swept through the entire Azure Sun Territory under Luo Ting He’s leadership, setting off a one-sided massacre of the Black Ink Clan until they were completely helpless.
At present, Azure Sun Territory was basically under the Human Race’s control. Although the Black Ink Clan was still launching ambushes in some places, they were no longer a threat and would be wiped out sooner or later.
These Black Ink Clan forces also wanted to escape from Azure Sun Territory, but the various Territory Gates had already been occupied by the Humans, leaving them nowhere to run.
Originally, the Black Ink Clan believed that the Humans would launch a massive counterattack after capturing Azure Sun Territory, so massive Black Ink Clan Armies had already deployed across the nearby Great Territories, preparing for battle.
But to the Black Ink Clan’s surprise, the Human Race Army in Azure Sun Territory did not continue the triumphant march. Even the Ninth-Order Master, Luo Ting He, showed no intention of leaving Azure Sun Territory. She simply stood guard there, her thoughts a mystery.
Unable to guess the enemy’s intentions, the Black Ink Clan became a little ill at ease.
Not only was Azure Sun Territory like this, but most of the other Great Territory Battlefields were in similar situations. In Wolf Fang Territory, Wei Jun Yang, leading the Human Race Army, basically purged the Black Ink Clan before stopping.
When the news reached the No-Return Pass, Mo Yu, who was overseeing the general situation, felt both uneasy and puzzled, wondering what these two Ninth-Order Human Race Masters were up to.
At that moment he really missed Mo Na Ye. Had Mo Na Ye been here, he might have been able to see through the Humans actions. Unfortunately, Mo Na Ye had entered the Universe Furnace World, and Mo Yu did not have any other useful subordinates under him.
Except for the Great Territory Battlefields that had the two Ninth-Order Masters, where the battle already settled, war was still raging on the rest of the Great Territory Battlefields. Both the Human Race and Black Ink Clan kept investing their troops there, and large and small battles would break out almost every few days.
The Black Ink Clan had suffered massive casualties, but the Human Race’s casualties weren’t small either.
Among the many pieces of information relayed back to the No-Return Pass, there was one that Mo Yu was extremely concerned about.
And that was that no matter which Great Territory Battlefield it was, the Human Race seemed to care a great deal about the location where the Universe Furnace projection had appeared. Even if they had advantages in battle, they maintained a heavy deployment at the location of the projection Space, strictly guarding it and preventing the Black Ink Clan from approaching.
[What’s so special about those locations? Why are they specifically guarding them?]
The Human Race’s movements gave Mo Yu a bad feeling. If his hunch came to be true, then all the Black Ink Clansmen who had entered the Universe Furnace might have a disastrous end waiting for them!
Because of his hunch, he issued several orders to all the Black Ink Clansmen deployed on the various Great Territory Battlefields to pay close attention to the locations where these projections had appeared.
When the Universe Furnace’s ninth Grand Dao evolution was taking place and the Universe Furnace World started shaking, the very same scene that had occurred several decades ago reappeared. The space that was heavily guarded by the Humans suddenly became distorted and chaotic before a massive illusory phantom of the Universe Furnace manifested!
The projection of the Universe Furnace had appeared once more!
After a few decades, by the time the Universe Furnace’s projection appeared once more, the Human Race Masters on the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields were already finished making their preparations.
Not to mention Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, which had practically been conquered, even the Great Territory Battlefields where wars were still raging had Humans basically completely controlling the specific areas.
The news immediately reached the Supreme Headquarters, causing Mi Jing Lun to frown.
[It’s a little fast!]
According to the information provided by Blood Crow, the last time the Universe Furnace manifested, it took over 100 years for it to close. Of course, the 100 years was the flow of time in the outside world. If one was really inside the Universe Furnace, they wouldn’t feel that so much time had passed, because Time and Space seemed to be extremely wrapped and chaotic at the very beginning, making it difficult to determine how long they had spent inside.
But it didn’t matter.
All the necessary arrangements had been made, and the rest would depend on how effective these arrangements were.
Putting down those reports, Mi Jing Lun picked up another set.
The emergence of the Universe Furnace had triggered an all-out war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. The Human Race was not completely prepared yet, but neither was the Black Ink Clan.
Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, under the leadership of two Ninth-Order Masters, had basically been reclaimed. The Black Ink Clansmen that were present there had either been killed or had fled long ago. The Territory Gates leading to two Territories were now completely in Human hands. All that was left were some finishing touches.
Several other Great Territory Battlefields were now dominated by the Human Race.
Let alone other Great Territory Battlefields, just Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory allowed the Human Race to push forward, but Mi Jing Lun did not give the order to do so.
The Black Ink Clan Army terribly outnumbered the Human Race Army still, and the same was true when it came to top Masters. If they continued pushing on, they might not be able to achieve much while sacrificing a lot.
Once the front line was stretched too far, it would be rather detrimental for the Human Race.
If the Human Race wanted to reclaim the 3,000 Worlds, they would have to take a steady approach. They would have to sweep through the Great Territories one by one and drive the Black Ink Clan out of their homeland, where they had lived for millions of years.
As such, Mi Jing Lun was waiting for the Universe Furnace to close. Only by killing all the Black Ink Clansmen that had entered the Universe Furnace would the Human Race be free from any attack in the rear.
Otherwise, if the Human Race Masters were sent to the front lines and the Black Ink Clan were to stir up trouble in the rear, that would be quite troublesome.
And at this moment, the time had come!
What he needed to consider now was how the Human Race would proceed after reclaiming the current Great Territory Battlefields.
When the massive Universe Furnace phantom appeared, apart from Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, the Black Ink Clan in the other Great Territory Battlefields immediately took action.
Mo Yu had already passed down an order a long time ago that if anything unusual transpired in those locations where the Universe Furnace’s projection had once appeared, the Black Ink Clan Army should immediately engage. They should not hesitate to attack regardless of what the Humans were planning.
A huge battle instantly broke out, and this time it swept up all the occupied Great Territory Battlefields.
Not long after the projection of the Universe Furnace appeared, figures appeared inside the projection one after another. These figures were none other than members of the Black Ink Clan who had entered the Universe Furnace.
Most of them were still in a state of confusion as the majority of Black Ink Clansman did not know that when they left the Universe Furnace World, they would return to their original location.
While they were still reeling from confusion, powerful attacks came raining down on them from all directions!
The Human Race Masters, who had long been prepared, immediately used their strongest Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques.
Not only that, but the Human Race Masters who had appeared together with the Black Ink Clansmen from the Universe Furnace World also quickly assumed Battle Formations, resisting the aftershocks of the attacks from their own side, while searching for opportunities to kill the powerful enemies near them.
One after another, fearsome auras flared up before vanishing. Within moments, the Territory Lords had suffered heavy casualties and even the Pseudo-Royal Lords found it difficult to protect themselves from this barrage.
In Azure Sun Territory, Luo Ting He’s slender figure had already charged straight into the enemy lines, reaping their lives with unstoppable force. Any Territory Lord that was targeted by her was dead within three breaths.
In Wolf Fang Territory, Wei Jun Yang, dressed in golden armour and holding a long spear, went on a killing spree, leaving rivers of blood behind him.
The Territories where the two Ninth-Order Masters were stationed were basically seeing a one-sided slaughter. Only Pseudo-Royal Lords managed to hold on, but that too was only for a short while.
If things were favourable for the Human Race in some places, there would naturally be other places where they were losing ground.
Profound Nether Territory Battlefield was a Great Territory Battlefield that was once personally overseen by Yang Kai, the killing star, so the Black Ink Clan had attached great importance to it. Things had been extremely tense for Profound Nether Territory Battlefield over the past few decades. If it weren’t for the Divine Spirits’ support, Profound Nether Army would have already been lost.
Even with the Divine Spirits’ assistance, however, it was still difficult for Profound Nether Army to secure another victory. The main reason was that the enemy had deployed a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords. Fortunately, after a series of large and small battles, the Profound Nether Army had managed to firmly control the area around the Universe Furnace projection.
But when the Universe Furnace projection appeared once more, and the Black Ink Clan Army went on offence, the Profound Nether Army actually had a difficult time holding their ground.
It wasn’t that Profound Nether Army was weak. It was an Army that had Yang Kai at its helm. In name, Yang Kai was still the Army Commander of Profound Nether Army. With a leader like him, the entire Profound Nether Army was second to none whether in terms of military strength or morale.
The main reason the Profound Nether Army was losing ground was because they had deployed most of their Masters to guard the location of the Universe Furnace’s projection, thereby weakening their forces in the other areas, which the Black Ink Clan took advantage of.
When the war broke out, the Profound Nether Army, adhering to the principle of minimizing losses, fought while slowly retreating. When the report of this was sent back to the Black Ink Clan, the Black Ink Clan Army’s leader misunderstood his enemy as weak and vulnerable, which in turn ignited the Black Ink Clan’s momentum.
While things were dragging on like this, several figures appeared in the Universe Furnace projection.
Immediately after, just like the other Great Territory Battlefields, the prepared Human Race Masters fired their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques at the Black Ink Clansmen who had suddenly appeared.
Right then, a fearsome aura suddenly appeared, shaking Heaven and Earth before a furious roar resounded throughout the entire Profound Nether Territory, “Ou Yang Lie has come! Bastards of the Black Ink Clan! Come suffer death!”
A few decades ago, Ou Yang Lie had entered the Universe Furnace through Profound Nether Territory’s entrance!
“Ninth Order!” In the rear of the Black Ink Clan Army, the Pseudo-Royal Lord Commander’s face drastically changed as he started shaking.
When he noticed that Ou Yang Lie’s aura had reached the Ninth Order, he knew that things were looking bleak for the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory.
While the Black Ink Clansmen were in a state of panic, the Human Race were in high spirits!
Before Yang Kai had taken charge of Profound Nether Army, Ou Yang Lie was well known for his rampages in Profound Nether Territory; so, he was quite famous here.
At this moment, many old Eighth-Order Masters were both envious and gratified after hearing him announce his name and feeling the awe-inspiring might of his Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, [Ou Yang Lie has advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm! He must have obtained a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill in the Universe Furnace!]
At this moment, the sudden appearance of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would definitely play a decisive role in the battle.
Ever since Yang Kai started cultivating his Human Self and went into retreat, the Profound Nether Army had been lacking a central pillar to rally around. Fortunately, the war hadn’t been too intense thanks to the peace treaty, so it didn’t matter if Yang Kai was present or not.
Now that Ou Yang Lie had returned even stronger than before, his presence would undoubtedly breathe new life into the entire Profound Nether Army!
Profound Nether Army’s morale soared and their momentum rose to a whole new level as they swept through the Great Territory!
On another Great Territory Battlefield, a Pseudo-Royal Lord shouted at the top of his lungs, “Xiang Shan has broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”
Right across him stood Xiang Shan with a gaping wound on his body and blood all over, but he still had a stoic look on his face as he sent a punch towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord who had been seriously injured by him, coldly snorting, “You talk too much!”
Just one punch sent the Pseudo-Royal Lord into a fit of coughing blood.
In just a few dozen breaths, the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura who was fighting Xiang Shan perished under his torrential attacks!
This was the first Pseudo-Royal Lord that had fallen in this Great Territory, but it would definitely not be the last.
Killing a Pseudo-Royal Lord was entirely possible for Xiang Shan with his current strength, but to kill him so quickly was only possible because he caught his opponent off guard.
This Pseudo-Royal Lord was also quite unlucky. Just as he led the Black Ink Clan Army over, he spotted Xiang Shan who had just appeared. He happened to have fought with Xiang Shan many years ago, and very well knew just how powerful Xiang Shan was.
But at that time, he was just an Innate Territory Lord. Now that he was a Pseudo-Royal Lord, he immediately had the urge to finish off Xiang Shan.
Except, he was taken aback the moment they exchanged blows.
He had indeed become a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but Xiang Shan had advanced to the Ninth-Order Master!
Moreover, Xiang Shan, a Ninth-Order Master, kept pressing the Pseudo-Royal Lord and ruthlessly injured him at the cost of getting himself injured.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord was already caught off guard, and now that Xiang Shan was putting his life on the line, coupled with the gap between their strengths, how could the Pseudo-Royal Lord be his opponent?
Xiang Shan did not stop after killing this Pseudo-Royal Lord and instead charged at the second Pseudo-Royal Lord. The sight of Xiang Shan coming straight at him scared the Hell out of the Pseudo-Royal Lord. He immediately turned tail and fled, not caring if this action would affect the morale of his Army.
The sudden appearance of two Ninth-Order Masters and their act of eliminating the strongest enemies right off the bat had stabilized the situation of the two Great Territories. It was quite foreseeable that these two Great Territories would come under the Human Race’s complete control very soon, and the Black Ink Clansmen present in these territories would either be killed or driven away.
Aside from the Great Territories under these four Ninth-Order Masters, neither side had any obvious advantages or disadvantages in others. Even if one side had a slight edge, it was not able to affect the overall situation.
But as time passed, this situation quickly changed.
With the Universe Furnace closed, the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen returned to the entrance they entered from, and when they did, the Humans, who had obviously made preparations for this a long time ago, caught them off guard and attacked the returning members of the Black Ink Clan. This led to the end of many Territory Lords and even some Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Additionally, the Humans in every Great Territory saw the return of a large number of Eighth-Order Masters. Many of these Eighth-Order Masters had only been Seventh-Order Masters when they had entered the Universe Furnace, but when they appeared today, they had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It was all thanks to the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills which were relatively easy to find inside the Universe Furnace compared to Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills.
Thanks to these Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills, nearly 90% of the Seventh-Order Masters that entered and survived had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. As for those who failed to advance, it was because of their lacking foundation.
Many Territory Lords fell in quick succession, while many Eighth-Order Masters joined the Human Army’s ranks. Owing to these conditions, the scales of victory and defeat were slowly tilting in the Human Race’s favour.
Wars broke out on all the Great Territory Battlefields and raged like a wildfire.
Elsewhere, a large number of Black Ink Clansmen returned to the Barren Territory. As it had always been under the Black Ink Clan’s complete control, the Humans couldn’t intervene. As such, there were no ambushes here.
But compared to the number of members who had entered the Universe Furnace through the Barren Territory, the number of Black Ink Clansmen who had returned was undoubtedly quite low.
A huge Army of millions of Black Ink Clansmen had entered the Universe Furnace from the Barren Territory back then, with many Territory Lords and Pseudo-Royal Lords among them.
But now less than a million had managed to return, that was all…
It was a catastrophic loss!
The main reason was that after the great battle in the Universe Furnace, the Human Race had searched every nook and cranny for them, killing any Black Ink Clansmen they came across. Those who were lucky enough to survive had been hiding all this while until today.
Outside the No-Return Pass, figures similarly appeared one after another at a certain location in the void.
One of them was none other than Mo Na Ye, whom Yang Kai had failed to find. He had fled right after the battle, and no one knew where he had gone or where he was hiding.
The moment he appeared, he instantly surged his Black Ink Strength and activated some Secret Technique, transforming into a Black Ink Cloud and quickly escaping.
Some Territory Lords called him out from behind, but he paid no heed to their calls.
After running for a while, he felt a little puzzled, wondering where Yang Kai was.
He didn’t spot him anywhere!
According to Xiao You’s report, when the Universe Furnace closed, all outsiders who entered it would return to their original positions. In other words, they would return to the very same spot from where they had entered the Universe Furnace.
Although he had been hiding well these past few days and hadn’t exposed his whereabouts, Mo Na Ye had been constantly preparing and was always on guard because Yang Kai had entered the Universe Furnace from the same location as him. In other words, once it was closed, whether he wanted to or not, he would definitely meet Yang Kai again.
Yang Kai had already reached the Ninth Order and his strength was no longer the same. Although Mo Na Ye had also become a Royal Lord, he had suffered serious injuries in their last battle and only managed to survive thanks to luck. It was extremely difficult for him to recover in the Universe Furnace World, and once he met Yang Kai, it would not end well for him.
As such, he fled the moment he emerged from the Universe Furnace, fearing that he would fall into Yang Kai’s hands.
However, Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen at this moment. Instead, some Territory Lords had appeared.
Mo Na Ye was unable to figure out what was going on, but he couldn’t bother to waste too much time pondering about it. He just kept fleeing in the direction of the No-Return Pass. Only by escaping to the No-Return Pass and obtaining the support of Royal Lord Mo Yu could he have a chance to survive!
He did not know why Yang Kai wasn’t here, but he was thankful all the same.
Meanwhile, another war had broken out outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Thousands of Suppressing Black Ink Army soldiers stood on the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, fending off the Black Ink Clan’s attacks again and again, using the power of their artifacts and the defences of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. Be that as it may, some Black Ink Clansmen would get close enough to cause some chaos from time to time.
Fortunately, Divine Dragon Fu Guang was still here. He was even stronger than an ordinary Ninth-Order Master and thanks to him personally overseeing things, plus the powerful support of the Suppressing Black Ink Army, the Black Ink Clan in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was having a hard time breaking through their defences.
However, according to Wu Kuang’s report, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had become a little unstable; after all, this was a Grand Restriction that Cang and the other Martial Ancestors had deployed millions of years ago. Even with Wu Kuang personally presiding over it now, it was still difficult for him to reproduce its peak strength.
Especially after the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been opened twice, which had a significant strain on its integrity. This allowed the Black Ink Clan to easily find weak points in the Grand Restriction and continue to break it down.
What particularly worried Wu Kuang was that he could faintly feel undulations of Mo’s aura.
During the last crusade, when the Black Ink Clan Army and the Human Race Army waged war just outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Cang had fallen after using Mu’s final trump card to force Mo into a deep sleep. This was the primary reason the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction could be maintained until now.
The Grand Restriction was more than capable of sealing ordinary Black Ink Clansman in, and could even stop Royal Lords with ease, but it was definitely not capable of sealing Mo in its current condition.
The day it was fully awake would be the day the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction collapsed.
Wu Kuang had been monitoring Mo’s movements for thousands of years, and he had not noticed anything unusual all this time. But recently, Mo’s still and tranquil aura had begun fluctuating, which was undoubtedly a bad sign.
The Human Race was able to deal with the invasion of the Black Ink Clan Army, they were able to deal with Royal Lords as well, but right now they had no means to restrain an ancient existence like Mo.
When the Universe Furnace’s projection appeared once again, it triggered a battle outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Two Royal Lords forced their way out of the gap Wu Kuang had opened all those years ago, not hesitating to endure the pressure of the Grand Restriction. Seeing this, Fu Guang promptly charged straight towards them, fighting one against two, with him not faltering in the slightest.
But with Fu Guang pinned down by two Royal Lords, Innate Territory Lords took advantage of the situation and besieged the Suppressing Black Ink Army. In a flash, the battle became extremely intense.
Seemingly because Mo was showing signs of awakening, the Black Ink Clan in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction became even more active. Over the past few years, their attacks had become more and more frequent, so the Suppressing Black Ink Army had no choice but to constantly fight. This high-intensity and prolonged battle had left all extremely exhausted, but none of them had the time to rest.
While everyone was locked in a heated battle, a number of powerful figures appeared from the projection of the Universe Furnace one after another.
Back when the Universe Furnace had appeared, the Suppressing Black Ink Army had sent 50 Eighth-Order Masters inside, but only less than 40 managed to return.
Clearly, the battles inside the Universe Furnace were no less dangerous than the battles outside. The Black Ink Clan had suffered tremendous casualties, but so had the Human Race. The Eighth-Order Masters of the Suppressing Black Ink Army had lost more than 20% of their original number.
The return of nearly 40 Eighth-Order Masters undoubtedly made the Suppressing Black Ink Army breathe a sigh of relief though, and when they sensed that one aura among these returnees was extremely powerful, it further boosted their morale!
Someone had broken through to the Ninth Order!
Soon, someone confirmed who had broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“It’s Xue’er! Xue’er has advanced to the Ninth Order!” Shan Qing Luo’s pleasantly surprised cry rang from a Warship cruising through the battlefield, waiting for an opportunity to kill more enemies.
Yu Ru Meng, Su Yan, and the others, who were standing beside her, were both surprised and gratified.
In fact, back when the Suppressing Black Ink Army had arranged for Eighth-Order Masters to enter the Universe Furnace to search for opportunities, Fu Guang basically tried to arrange for all of them to enter. Naturally, this was because of Yang Kai, and Fu Guang had his own considerations as well.
Nonetheless, the Wives came to a unanimous decision to give this opportunity to Yang Xue. Although they were women, they had killed a fair share of powerful enemies in their lives. Even if their Husband had made great contributions to the Human Race, they weren’t willing to take advantage of his reputation.
Everyone yearned for a chance to grab the opportunities presented by the Universe Furnace, so if all of them were to enter, they would easily become the target of criticism.
If just Yang Xue was to enter, it would not be an issue, but considering Yang Xue’s safety, Yang Xiao was also allowed to enter; otherwise, Yang Xiao, as a member of the Dragon Clan, would never have had the chance to enter the Universe Furnace.
Now that Yang Xue had reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, she had lived up to everyone’s expectations and efforts.
[Our dear Husband has only one Sister, so we should dote on her. I wonder if he knows that Xue’er has advanced to the Ninth Order? If he comes to know, it will definitely make him very happy.]
Just as they were thinking this, a voice drifted into their ears. It was none other than Yang Xue.
“Big Brother has broken through to the Ninth-Order in the Universe Furnace, Sister-in-Laws, there is no need to worry!”
The women were stunned for a moment before a beautiful smile bloomed on their faces.
“He always manages to achieve miracles,” Su Yan smiled, not too surprised.
Everyone thought that the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm was Yang Kai’s limit, even the Black Ink Clan; however, as people who had shared their lives with Yang Kai for so many years, these women always believed that he would not resign himself to his fate and would definitely try to break through to the Ninth-Order.
And now, he had done it!
Because it was him!
The Warship continued to shuttle back and forth as the women aboard it seamlessly cooperated with each other, releasing their Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities one after another, forcefully paving a path filled with fire and blood on the battlefield.
The sudden appearance of a Ninth-Order Master had instantly turned the situation around. Black Ink Clansmen were being slaughtered at an incredible rate, and by the time the two Royal Lords who were fighting Fu Guang noticed that the things were not in their favour and wanted to flee back to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it was already too late.
Yang Xue, holding her sword, stood before the gap, blocking it. She hesitated for a moment before allowing the first Royal Lord to rush back into the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and then joining forces with Fu Guang to attack the second.
After an intense battle, the Royal Lord fell!
Many Royal Lords had pushed their way out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction over the years, but under Fu Guang’s personal supervision, they were rarely able to do anything.
Vice versa, it was now very difficult for Fu Guang to kill a Royal Lord. Most of the time, these Royal Lords would flee back to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction at first notice of things not in their favour, and Fu Guang was simply powerless to do anything, despite his fearsome strength.
But this time, with the addition of Yang Xue, a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and thanks to her act of letting one Royal Lord escape, the remaining Royal Lord lost any chance of surviving.
Finally, they managed to win after a hearty and delightful battle, but the Suppressing Black Ink Army did not rejoice. Instead, they silently regulated their breathing and started preparing for the next battle!
At the same time, Fu Guang and Yang Xue also received a piece of bad news.
This news came straight from Wu Kuang, who was presiding over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
As the reincarnation of Shi and a Ninth-Order Master himself, Wu Kuang was now able to control the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to a great extent. All these years, the Black Ink Clan kept coming out of it, partly because of the Black Ink Clan’s efforts and partly because Wu Kuang was intentionally controlling it, relieving the pressure inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
After all, he wasn’t the true Shi and the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been in a state of disrepair for many years. Its internal pressure was too high. If he didn’t find a way to relieve it, he wouldn’t be able to control it in his current state.
Every time the Black Ink Clan came out, there would only be one or two Royal Lords, which was thanks to Wu Kuang’s careful control. Had he not been regulating the Grand Restriction, the number of Royal Lords that would manage to come out would have been far greater. The Suppressing Black Ink Army only had so many people, so even with the help of a powerful weapon like the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, they would not be able to deal with so many Black Ink Clansmen.
Once the number of Black Ink Clansmen exceeded the limit of what the Suppressing Black Ink Army could endure, they would surely be destroyed.
And now, even though Wu Kuang’s strength was increasing by the day, he was slowly losing control over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. The next time the Black Ink Clan tried to break out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, they would be accompanied by a few Royal Lords. He could not say for sure whether it be two or three, or even more. All he could do was do his best and ask Fu Guang and Yang Xue to make preparations.
Pure Dao Strength coursed through Yang Kai’s body, leaving him disoriented. Helpless, he had no choice but to follow the flow.
According to his speculations, the source or end of the river was bound to have some grand secrets. Going against the current was too difficult, even for Yang Kai, who had already reached the Ninth Order, so he could only go along with it.
It was a strange feeling, as if he was really in a real river, flowing into the distant unknown, sometimes calm and sometimes surging.
After an unknown period, Yang Kai felt the flow around him become faster, like a river flowing down a slope. Moreover, the size of the tributary suddenly increased and the Dao Strength around him became even denser.
He immediately understood that the tributary he was in had merged with the other tributaries.
After a while, it merged with a few more tributaries, and the flow of the river became even faster.
As he continued to merge with the other tributaries, the tributary became bigger and stronger, forcing Yang Kai to use his Space-Time River to protect himself from external forces.
At one point, Yang Kai was hit with a sense of weightlessness, as if he was falling from a waterfall. Fierce water was swirling around him and no matter how hard he tried, he could not maintain his balance.
Amid the intense Dao Strength fluctuations, Yang Kai found it difficult to even maintain the Space-Time River around him. Then, at some point, he felt like he was spewed out from somewhere.
This kind of feeling was quite odd…
By the time he somehow managed to stabilize himself, the tributary was nowhere to be seen. Without any external forces acting on him, Yang Kai stood quietly in place, furrowing his brow.
[Is this the end of the tributary? Where am I?]
He turned his head and started looking around, but the next moment, he froze and gawked in a daze.
In his sight was a massive furnace, rapidly disappearing into the distance. This furnace was simple and unadorned, and covered in complex patterns. An incredibly ancient aura was radiating from it.
“The Universe Furnace!” Suddenly, Thunder Shadow’s voice rang in his mind, seemingly shocked by this sight.
Yang Kai’s recent actions had left him somewhat confused, but now he finally understood that Yang Kai’s purpose was to explore the mysteries of the Universe Furnace.
And now, the greatest mysteries of this World had truly appeared before his eyes.
The massive furnace flying through the void before them was no different from the one that had been projected onto the various Great Territory battlefields. If it wasn’t a Universe Furnace, what was it?
The only difference was that the projection was illusory, while the one in front of them was real and tangible!
Yang Kai was awoken from his daze by Thunder Shadow’s cry of surprise, and just when he was about to chase after the furnace, dazzling colourful rays spewed out from the furnace’s mouth.
As soon as these colourful rays appeared, they scattered in all directions. Many sand-like particles suddenly expanded, transforming into the embryonic form of Universe Worlds. A strange Celestial Phenomenon suddenly expanded and occupied a vast space as rich and pure Grand Daos surged out of the Universe Furnace, filling this stretch of the void that was originally filled with Chaos.
Right then, a grain of sand came flying straight at Yang Kai. Without the pressure from the Universe Furnace, this grain of sand finally revealed its true form. As the distance between Yang Kai and the grain of sand shortened, it quickly transformed into the embryonic form of a Universe World that was no smaller than the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai hurriedly used Instantaneous Movement to dodge.
When he was exploring the depths of the Infinite River, Yang Kai had seen these grains of sand and knew that they were not ordinary. Now that they had left the Universe Furnace, they had finally revealed their true appearance.
As they were just the embryonic forms of the Universe World, they were barren and devoid of vitality, but as long as the conditions were right, they would gradually become complete and give rise to living creatures in the future.
The Universe Furnace was still rapidly advancing as more colourful rays continuously shot out of its mouth.
Yang Kai finally understood how he happened to have arrived at this place. Apparently, he was spat out by the Universe Furnace after he entered the tributary and followed it back to its source.
The flow of the tributary was only because the Universe Furnace was erupting.
This was not the 3,000 Worlds, nor was it Black Ink Battlefield, but a place he had never set foot in before.
Having lived and cultivated for so many years, Yang Kai could be considered an experienced and knowledgeable man, but what he was seeing right now was far beyond anything he had ever imagined.
After having calmed himself down, Yang Kai continued chasing after the Universe Furnace, occasionally avoiding the suddenly expanding celestial bodies and Celestial Phenomena that came flying at him.
Since he reached the Outer Universe, Yang Kai had always had a nagging doubt in his mind.
How did the Great Territories, Universe Worlds, and strange yet magnificent Celestial Phenomena come to be? Rumour had it that when Chaos was first split into Heaven and Earth, it gave birth to many Great Territories and Universe Worlds, but who or what could have possessed such great power to accomplish such a feat?
Even if the world itself evolved, it should still have a source!
The exploration of the Infinite River had allowed Yang Kai to witness the sand grain-like embryonic forms of the Universe Worlds, as well as the exquisite Celestial Phenomena in their nascent state. Although he had gained some insights, they were vague and incomplete.
But at this moment, everything became clear!
The source of everything was here, the Universe Furnace!
The 3,000 Worlds, the Universe Worlds, and even the remnants of the Celestial Phenomena on the Black Ink Battlefield, they all originated from the Universe Furnace, brought about by its eruptions since the dawn of existence.
What he was seeing right now was the true process of how Heaven and Earth split apart!
It was an awe-inspiring sight.
In his mind, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow were also staring fixedly at this scene. Even the usually noisy Thunder Shadow had stopped talking.
It was a scene that no ordinary person would ever see in their lifetime.
Perhaps, since ancient times, no one at all had ever witnessed this!
What Yang Kai was currently feeling was hard to describe. He wasn’t excited about being able to see the true nature of this world, but rather, he was at a loss.
“The Chaos Spirit King!” Thunder Shadow’s shout suddenly rang in his mind.
Yang Kai immediately activated Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to conceal his figure and aura.
The next moment, a fearsome aura emerged all of a sudden, gushing out along with dense Dao Strengths. Surprisingly, it was a Chaos Spirit King.
And it was not just a Chaos Spirit King, many other Chaos Spirit Clan members also came gushing out of the Universe Furnace, arriving at this void.
Yang Kai had thought it was the Chaos Spirit King who had a grudge with him, but when he took a closer look, he found that it was not the case.
Whether it was the appearance or figure of this Chaos Spirit King, Yang Kai had never seen it before. Its aura was still not as firm and stable as the previous one, and its physique even bore some resemblance to the Black Ink Clan.
“This should be a newly born Chaos Spirit King,” Fang Tian Ci stated.
For this opening of the Universe Furnace, three Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were still unaccounted for. There was a high chance they had fallen into the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan, so it wasn’t surprising for a new Chaos Spirit King to be born.
This should be the newly-born Chaos Spirit King.
Seeing this Chaos Spirit King appear here, Yang Kai roughly understood how it had been spat out. The other party seemed to be a little unaccustomed to the outside world, but after a brief pause, it quickly flew off into the distance and soon disappeared from Yang Kai’s sight.
A large number of Chaos Spirit Clan members followed after it.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai continued chasing after the Universe Furnace while concealing himself.
More and more embryonic Universe Worlds and Celestial Phenomena appeared, with occasional Chaos Spirit Clansmen and Chaos Spirit Kings among them. Yang Kai even saw the one who had a grudge against him, but thanks to Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, the other party didn’t notice him.
Like the first Chaos Spirit King, this Chaos Spirit King also quickly fled in a seemingly random certain direction and soon disappeared.
“So that’s how it is,” Thunder Shadow’s voice rang out in his mind, “No wonder we didn’t see many Chaos Spirit Kings inside the Universe Furnace. It seems our previous speculations were wrong. It’s not that the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills can’t create Chaos Spirit Kings rapidly, but that most of these Chaos Spirit Kings were spat out and not in the Universe Furnace.”
“That should be the case,” Fang Tian Ci also agreed with him.
Previously, when they were discussing the number of Chaos Spirit Kings inside the Universe Furnace with Yang Kai, they had some doubts. Logically speaking, since the Universe Furnace had opened so many times, there should have been many Chaos Spirit Kings inside, dozens of them at least. But from beginning to end, they had only seen one Chaos Spirit King.
At the time, Yang Kai had speculated that the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills might not be completely effective for the Chaos Spirit Clan and could not create Chaos Spirit Kings right away, only slightly stronger Chaos Spirit Clan members.
But by the looks of it, his speculation was incorrect. A Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill had a high chance of producing a Chaos Spirit King. It just turned out that when the Universe Furnace closed, sand grain-like Universe Worlds, as well as the Celestial Phenomena and even Chaos Spirit Clansmen were spewed out by it.
This was equivalent to a purge.
The one who had formed a grudge with Yang Kai was probably one of the survivors from the last great purge.
While chasing the Universe Furnace, Yang Kai kept an eye on everything happening along the way; wherever the Universe Furnace passed, the Universe seemed to be reborn, though everything was primitive and desolate.
Perhaps after countless years, this stretch of the Universe would be filled with vitality, but right now, it was destined to be filled with nothing but death and silence.
After an unknown period of time, the Universe Furnace’s eruption gradually weakened, as if it was nearly finished spewing out everything inside. Finally, nothing gushed out of the Universe Furnace.
“Chaos!” Yang Kai suddenly whispered.
“What?” Thunder Shadow asked.
“Chaos!” Yang Kai repeated, “The edge of the Universe is Chaos!”
As a matter of fact, Yang Kai had already noticed it when he was first spewed out of the Universe Furnace. It was filled with nothing but Chaos, just like when he had first entered the Universe Furnace.
There was no order inside the Chaos, everything was extremely chaotic.
However, after the Grand Daos inside the Universe Furnace had evolved nine times, the Chaos had evolved into order.
And after everything inside the Universe Furnace had been expelled into this void filled with Chaos, it had washed away the disorder. Especially the rich and pure 10,000 Grand Daos, which seemed to neutralize the Chaos.
But no matter what, it was still a place filled with Chaos.
Before the Black Ink Clan’s invasion, the 3,000 Worlds were flourishing and each Great Territory had its own unique style. The Great Territories were connected by Territory Gates, forming an extremely complicated yet interconnected Great World.
The Human Race had lived in such a Great World for countless years, ultimately dominating it; however, there was also a Black Ink Battlefield outside this Great World, which was originally the frontline battlefield against the Black Ink Clan consisting of various Great Passes made by the Human Race’s Ancestors.
The Black Ink Battlefield was vast and boundless.
The deepest region that the Human Race had reached now was the location of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Yang Kai might have gone a bit farther when he was chased by the Royal Lord and fled deeper into the void, eventually hiding inside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
But what was behind the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?
What was further behind the Celestial Phenomena Sea?
Where was the end of the Universe?
Yang Kai had thought about these questions before, but he could not find any answer to them.
Until today, when his actions allowed him to see the real body of the Universe Furnace, allowing him to find the answer to his question.
The edge of the Universe was Chaos!
It could even be said that the Universe had no end, because Chaos itself was disorderly and chaotic.
If the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield were considered a single entity, then this whole entity should be surrounded by endless Chaos.
The eruption of the Universe Furnace was slowly transforming this Chaos into a part of the Universe, expanding its borders without limit.
Realizing this, Yang Kai failed to stop his laughter, [No wonder no one has been able to find the true body of the Universe Furnace all these years. It does exist, but it is at the very edge of the Universe. Who would have even thought of coming here to search for it?]
[And so what if I found it?]
Yang Kai had previously considered whether he would have a chance to refine the Universe Furnace if he could find its true body, but looking at it now, he understood that this idea was completely impossible.
Such a treasure was not something the Human Race could control. It was the Source of the Universe, of everything. Trying to refine it would be akin to trying to refine the Universe itself. Compared to such an endeavour, finding a way to kill Mo would be child’s play.
Just as Yang Kai’s thoughts were racing, the Universe Furnace that was flying through the void underwent another change.
All of a sudden, a powerful suction came from the furnace, devouring the Chaos in the nearby void in a flash.
The massive and majestic Universe Furnace seemed to have transformed into a bottomless pit. It only seemed to draw in Chaos however, while whatever it had spewed out, whether it was the embryonic Universe Worlds, various Celestial Phenomena, or even the invisible and formless Dao Strengths, they were completely unaffected.
Furthermore, the devouring force became stronger and stronger, so strong that an enormous vortex visible to the naked eye had appeared at the mouth of the Universe Furnace.
Watching this from afar, Yang Kai was stunned, but not too surprised.
When he was in the Universe Furnace World, Yang Kai had discovered that whether it was the Infinite River that flowed across the entire Universe Furnace World or the nine Grand Dao evolutions of the Universe Furnace, all of them involved the mysteries of the Chaos evolving into 10,000 Grand Daos.
When he first entered the Universe Furnace, it was also filled with Chaos, and it was in that Chaos-rich environment that all kinds of strange things were born, even the Chaos Spirit Clan.
But the key question was where did the Chaos in the Universe Furnace come from?
It came from here!
The Universe Furnace was located at the edge of the Universe and swallowed Chaos to fill itself. Whenever it reached its limit, it would convert this Chaos into 10,000 Grand Daos.
And when the Universe Furnace had been filled to its limit, it would appear once more!
When the Chaos inside the Universe Furnace had completely evolved into the 10,000 Grand Daos, the Universe Furnace would close and everything inside would be spewed out, expanding the Universe further.
This was a true Samsara…
It could be said that regardless of whether it was the world the Human Race had explored or the world they had not set foot on, both had been created by the repeated Samsara of the Universe Furnace.
This process had been going on for countless years, and perhaps it would continue until the Chaos was completely consumed by the Universe Furnace.
It was like a painting that was being painted from ancient times to the present, grand and magnificent. Compared to this, the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan seemed so small and insignificant.
Yang Kai followed the Universe Furnace, staring at it in a daze, his heart rapidly beating until finally, after a long time, he suddenly stopped.
There was no need to follow any further. After witnessing the entire process of the Universe Furnace expanding the Universe, witnessing the cycle of the Universe Furnace devouring and expelling, Yang Kai had figured out the origin of how Worlds were created and how the Universe came to be. It could be said that many of Yang Kai’s doubts had been answered.
However, no matter how one looked at such a painting, it was still shocking.
His original intention was to find the true body of the Universe Furnace and try to refine it to see if he could use it for himself.
Yang Kai had indeed found the real body of the Universe Furnace, but he no longer had any thoughts about refining it, because after witnessing everything, he knew that was nothing but a fool’s dream.
“Big Brother, how do we go back?” After a long silence, Thunder Shadow suddenly asked a crucial question.
Yang Kai had been expelled by the Universe Furnace along with the tributary. Now that the Universe Furnace was swallowing the Chaos, it had obviously closed down. In other words, the members of the Human Race and Black Ink Clan inside the Universe Furnace had already left, so how could he return?
Even if he were to rush into the Universe Furnace now, it would be meaningless, not to mention the fact that there was still a question of whether he could. Even if he did somehow manage to get inside, there was a high chance he would be trapped and unable to escape. Then he would have no choice but to wait for the next time the Universe Furnace opened.
It was hard to say when the Universe Furnace would open again. Maybe it would open in 10,000 years, or perhaps it would be hundreds of thousands of years, no one could say for certain.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to Thunder Shadow’s question, and instead silently circulated his strength, trying to connect with the World Tree.
Even at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Yang Kai only needed to connect with the World Tree to reach it. After receiving the Old Tree’s guidance, he could then enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Unfortunately, he did not get any response this time.
Although he had expected this, Yang Kai was still a little disappointed after having gotten the confirmation.
The reason he was able to connect to the World Tree was because he had refined and saved thousands of Universe Worlds in the past. Each of these Universe Worlds had a corresponding World Fruit on the Old Tree, and through this relationship, he had formed a close connection with it.
So, whenever he wanted, he could use the World Tree’s power to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
It could be said that the World Tree itself was connected to all the remaining Universe Worlds and the 3,000 Worlds itself. Back then, Yang Kai had left behind a completely dead Universe World just outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so that he could easily check up on it whenever he wanted.
However, this place was at the edge of the Universe, and the World Tree’s connection clearly couldn’t reach such a distant and mysterious location, so it was naturally impossible to reach out to it.
“If we go in the opposite direction, we’ll eventually find our way back.” Yang Kai heaved a sigh.
Perhaps it would take an incomparably long time for him to return to the 3,000 Worlds, but that was the only way.
Although he had miscalculated and this venture didn’t yield much tangible results, the fact that he was able to witness the Universe Furnace swallow and refine Chaos, giving birth to the new Universe Worlds, made this trip completely worthwhile.
This might not enhance his strength, but it would have a profound impact on his future path.
After taking one last deep look at the rapidly departing Universe Furnace, Yang Kai turned around and set off!
In his mind, Fang Tian Ci heaved a sigh, “Mo Na Ye really got it easy!”
Thunder Shadow was stunned for a moment before quickly responding, “Right, that guy’s luck is too good.”
Originally, if everything had gone as usual and nothing unexpected happened, Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye would have appeared at the same location when the Universe Furnace closed. With Yang Kai’s current strength, the heavily injured Mo Na Ye, who had not been able to recover, would not have been his opponent. Most probably, Yang Kai would have killed him on the spot, thereby eliminating a strong enemy of the Human Race.
However, Yang Kai’s actions gave Mo Na Ye a chance to survive.
The Universe Furnace was already closed and Mo Na Ye had most likely escaped back to the No-Return Pass. Yang Kai had no idea how long it would take for him to return, but by the time he did, Mo Na Ye might have already recovered from his wounds. By then, it really would not be that easy for Yang Kai to kill him.
Nonetheless, it was useless to mull over what had already happened. So long as he was strong enough, he would have a chance to kill Mo Na Ye.
Hurrying along and gazing towards the horizon, Yang Kai calmed himself. When the Universe Furnace appeared, it triggered a war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, one that should be in full swing right now.
Fortunately, the Human Race had given birth to four new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Universe Furnace, him, Xiang Shan, Yang Xue, and Ou Yang Lie.
Yang Xue should have returned to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so she could not partake in the war in the 3,000 Worlds for now.
Xiang Shan and Ou Yang Lie, on the other hand, could lead an Army to fight the Black Ink Clan. Counting Luo Ting He and Wei Jun Yang, who had just advanced to the Ninth Order, the Human Race now had four Ninth-Order Masters to rely on.
As long as they did not make any rash moves, taking care of the Black Ink Clan shouldn’t be a problem.
Rather, Yang Kai was slightly worried about Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing’s side. These two had been suppressing the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in Wind Mist Territory. When the war broke out between the two sides, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would definitely not sit by and watch; there was a high chance that it would make a move.
If it insisted on escaping, there was nothing the two Ninth-Order Masters could do.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had left a trump card with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao in the past. So, even if the Black Ink Giant Spirit God managed to escape, the Human Race would still be able to contain it.
Hopefully, by the time he returned, things had not become too bad.
Thinking so, Yang Kai ordered Fang Tian Ci, “Second Brother, you take the helm.”
Fang Tian Ci promptly agreed and took control of his body, teleporting forward using Space Principles.
Had anyone else been stranded at the edge of the Universe, even if it was a Ninth-Order Master, it would have taken them an incredibly long time to make it back, but Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space. Even if he was at the edge of the Universe, he would still be able to return after some time.
Furthermore, he had Fang Tian Ci to assist him.
At this moment, while Fang Tian Ci had taken over a part of his body, Yang Kai focused on digesting the gains he had obtained from the Universe Furnace.
On the day the Universe Furnace closed, the members of the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan inside returned to the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields.
The Human Race, which had been preparing for this a long time, dealt a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan. In Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, the two Great Territory Battlefields which the Humans had basically conquered, most of the returning Black Ink Clansmen were either killed and heavily injured. Apart from a few Pseudo-Royal Lords who managed to make it out alive somehow, there were no other survivors.
Having broken through to the Ninth Order, when Ou Yang Lie and Xiang Shan returned to Profound Nether Territory and Blood Flame Territory respectively, the Black Ink Clan was caught off guard. The two went on a killing spree, killing many Black Ink Clansmen and traumatizing the survivors.
Afterwards, the Profound Nether and Blood Flame Armies gathered their entire force and attacked the Black Ink Clan’s main camps under the leadership of the two Ninth-Order Masters!
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle with blood and flesh covering the endless void.
Although the Black Ink Clan’s side had a few Pseudo-Royal Lords, their numbers were still insufficient to deal with these two newly promoted Ninth-Order Masters. For a time, the momentum of the Human Race Armies in Profound Nether Territory and Blood Flame Territory was unstoppable. The Black Ink Clan Army collapsed the moment they clashed, suffering countless losses.
At the same time, the Azure Sun and Wolf Fang Armies, who had already finished their preparations, sent troops to the nearby Great Territory Battlefields under the leadership of Luo Ting He and Wei Jun Yang.
The battle situation in every Great Territory Battlefield was different. In some, the Human Race occupied the advantage, and in others, the Black Ink Clan held the upper hand. Naturally, there were also those where both sides were basically evenly matched.
But despite the situations, favourable and unfavourable, the fact was that the Human Race had gained many new and powerful troops. The only thing waiting for the Black Ink Clan was defeat!
The Human Race Armies led by the Ninth-Order Masters were basically invincible!
In just three years, the Humans conquered another two Great Territory Battlefields.
At this time, the battle led by Ou Yang Lie and Xiang Shan in Profound Nether Territory and Blood Flame Territory had also come to an end. Since the Black Ink Clan did not have spare Royal Lords to send, it was extremely difficult for their Army to resist the Human’s offensive.
Of the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields, the Human Race had already reclaimed six. The Supreme Headquarters spread this news far and wide, boosting the Human Race’s morale greatly.
As the war raged, the recruitment office on the Star Boundary was also filled with a crowd eager to enlist. In fact, ever since the recruitment office was established, cultivators kept coming in a constant stream to sign up. But as the situation was unclear before, and a full-scale war had not broken out between the two races, the recruitment office had a lot of restrictions on the number of new recruits they could accept.
But now, a full-scale war had broken out between the two sides, and this was a war that concerned everyone’s survival. This war would eventually end with the total destruction of one side. As the battlefront would be extended every time the Human Race reclaimed lost territory, the requirements imposed on the recruitment office for new recruits had been lowered.
A large number of newcomers constantly passed through this place and were sent to various battlefields to fill up the numbers.
After thousands of years of accumulation, the Human Race had indeed created many Masters, especially the Star Boundary and Myriad Monster World. Many talented individuals had been born on these two Universe Worlds thanks to the World Tree clone’s feedback. The newly promoted Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters might not be able to do anything against the Black Ink Clan alone, but if they were gathered into an Army of tens of thousands, the power they could display would be unimaginable.
At the Supreme Headquarters, Mi Jing Lun was also constantly transferring various resources and personnel to various battlefields to ensure the logistics of the Army.
Fortunately, the Human Race had got their hands on quite a lot of spoils of war when they had recaptured those Great Territories. Although the Human Race was still lacking in resources, it was not to the point where they were starving.
After recapturing the six Great Territory Battlefields, the six Armies split up and moved closer to the remaining battlefields where war was still raging. They converged with the original Human Race Armies of those Great Territory Battlefields, assisting them in resisting the Black Ink Clan.
The battle became extremely fierce and the Black Ink Clan found it difficult to resist the Humans at the beginning; but soon, the Black Ink Clan responded with appropriate countermeasures.
The primary reason the Human Race held the initial advantage was the presence of several Ninth-Order Masters leading the Armies. It was difficult for the Black Ink Clan to compete with them.
Although there were some Territory Lords who had the potential to become Royal Lords, they still needed time and could not be counted on for now
But the Black Ink Clan had Pseudo-Royal Lords! Moreover, creating a Pseudo-Royal Lord didn’t require much time. It only required a large number of Innate Territory Lords and a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
Back when the Universe Furnace had appeared, Mo Yu passed an order to gather all the uninjured Innate Territory Lords at the No Return Pass with a heavy heart, using them to create a few dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords in order to destroy any opportunities the Humans might get!
At that time, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a huge loss of manpower. It could be said that almost all of the Innate Territory Lords who had come out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction at the beginning of the war were wiped out.
Nonetheless, it was worth it. The few dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords had indeed posed a huge threat and caused a lot of trouble to the Human Race.
Now, however, less than 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords were left. It was difficult for them to contend with the Human Race with just these Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The Black Ink Clan needed even more Pseudo-Royal Lords!
Fortunately, the Black Ink Clan had such capital.
The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was breached years back, and around 2,000 Innate Territory Lords had escaped from it. These Innate Territory Lords had suffered heavy injuries while escaping and were unable to do anything for a while. After Yang Kai came to learn of this, he began hunting and took out many of these Innate Territory Lords. Mo Na Ye even tried to set a trap for Yang Kai using these heavily injured Innate Territory Lords as bait, but the Black Ink Clan ultimately failed and had lost many of these Innate Territory Lords.
Nonetheless, many Innate Territory Lords still managed to escape with their lives and had been recuperating at the No-Return Pass all these years!
The Black Ink Clan was not lacking in resources either, and thanks to this abundance, most of these Innate Territory Lords had already recovered from their injuries after decades of rest and recuperation.
The loss of six Great Territory Battlefields had sent Mo Yu into a rage and he once again decided to create Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Today, at the No-Return Pass, one Innate Territory Lord after another walked into the Black Ink Nests under Mo Yu’s orders before their fearsome auras vanished. Be that as it may, death was not the final outcome, the sacrifice of life was for that moment of rebirth!
The next moment, High-Rank Grade Black Ink Nests started violently shaking before collapsing one by one. Soon after, one powerful Pseudo-Royal Lord after another emerged from the collapsed Black Ink Nests.
Today, 50 Pseudo-Royal Lords were created in the Black Ink Clan!
Without any delay, these 50 new Pseudo-Royal Lords left the No-Return Pass under Mo Yu’s orders, dispatched to support the various Great Territory Battlefields.
The addition of 50 Pseudo-Royal Lords instantly put a lot of pressure on the Human Race.
Surprisingly, the Human Race Army’s ferocious advancement was stopped!
After having reclaimed four Great Territories in just three years, most Humans believed that the coming war would be as easy and smooth as the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves, but to everyone’s dismay, they once again entered a stalemate.
Every time a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm joined the battle, the Black Ink Clan would send at least three Pseudo-Royal Lords to confront him or her. It was extremely difficult for the Ninth-Order Masters to do anything in this kind of situation.
Fighting for several years, countless lives on both sides were lost, and there was no end in sight to the bloodshed.
A few years later, the Human Race ceased their offensive and instead sent out teams led by Masters to find opportunities to kill Black Ink Clansmen.
They had some results as they managed to lure a few Pseudo-Royal Lords into ambushes where they were killed in one fell swoop by the Ninth-Order Masters.
After having suffered losses a few times though, the Pseudo-Royal Lords became more cautious and no longer dared to act alone, lest the Humans take advantage of them.
Nonetheless, they failed to break the stalemate. All in all, battles of all sizes erupted from time to time, but no one was able to gain much advantage.
This situation continued for several decades!
In the last few decades, neither side was able to advance any further after the Human Race took back six Great Territory Battlefields. Everyone was filled with energy, but had nowhere to use it.
Many people had already realized what the problem was. Although the Human Race had several Ninth-Order Masters, they lacked a method to quickly kill Pseudo-Royal Lords. It could also be said that they lacked a Master who could break through the ranks of a million enemy troops and strike fear into the hearts of the Black Ink Clan.
The Ninth-Order Masters were strong enough to kill Pseudo-Royal Lords in one-on-one combat, but as the Pseudo-Royal Lords never acted alone anymore, they could not do anything to them either.
If there was a Master who could quickly kill a few Pseudo-Royal Lords in a head-on battle, the Human Race would definitely be able to break the stalemate and rout the Black Ink Clan’s forces!
Xiang Shan may have been stronger than the others, but he couldn’t accomplish such a feat.
There was only one person who could do such a thing!
The Lord of the Star Boundary, Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army in name, the one who was best at creating miracles, the one who was invincible in the same realm, Yang Kai!
When he was in the Seventh Order, he killed Feudal Lords as easily as cutting melons and chopping vegetables. When he was in the Eighth Order, he slaughtered Innate Territory Lords like chickens and dogs. Now that he was in the Ninth Order, it would be a piece of cake for him to deal with a few Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Unfortunately, no one knew where Yang Kai was right now.
The Human Race knew that Yang Kai had entered the Universe Furnace from the entrance on the Black Ink Battlefield. In other words, when the Universe Furnace closed, he should have appeared outside the No-Return Pass.
If that was the case though, he should have returned by now.
In the beginning, no one had paid much attention to this; after all, it would take some time to return from the Black Ink Battlefield, but it had now been several decades, yet there was no sign of him.
This begged the question, did something happen to him? If not, how could he have disappeared for so long?
Did the Black Ink Clan make preparations and set up an ambush near the projection space when he returned from the Universe Furnace, perhaps catching him off guard?
But the Black Ink Clan knew nothing about this. So, how could they have set up an ambush in advance? Furthermore, even if the Black Ink Clan had set up an ambush, they would have been able to kill him now that he had reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
On top of that, the Human Race was certain that Yang Kai had not been ambushed. At the very least, he had not died at the hands of the Black Ink Clan.
For thousands of years, Yang Kai’s name was a beacon of hope to the Human Race, a symbol of faith, but to the Black Ink Clan, it was synonymous with disaster, an existence they greatly hated. If Yang Kai really died at the hands of the Black Ink Clan, they would never have kept it a secret. They would have definitely made a big fuss about it and publicized it to attack the morale of the Human Race Army.
Since the Black Ink Clan had spread nothing about Yang Kai, it meant that he could not have died at their hands.
But the question was if Yang Kai was alive or not. If he was alive, where was he? It was something the upper echelons of the Human Race urgently needed to investigate.
Mi Jing Lun had also summoned many Human Race Masters who had returned from the Universe Furnace to inquire about Yang Kai.
According to the investigation, the last person to speak with Yang Kai was Ou Yang Lie. After the huge battle in the Universe Furnace World that dragged in the majority of the members from both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, Yang Kai left after recovering from his injuries.
Before leaving, he had a brief conversation with Ou Yang Lie, informing the latter that he wanted to find the remaining Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, and try to find the answers to his doubts while he was at it.
What his doubts were, Ou Yang Lie did not ask, and Yang Kai did not tell.
Since then, Ou Yang Lie did not see Yang Kai again; after all, the Universe Furnace World was massive so it was normal for them to not meet each other.
On the other hand, some Eighth-Order Masters had vaguely sensed Yang Kai’s aura fleeting past them, but Yang Kai was being chased by the Chaos Spirit King at that time, so none of them dared to approach him. Yang Kai simply flew past them, luring the Chaos Spirit King away with him.
Without any useful information, Mi Jing Lun was unable to deduce Yang Kai’s whereabouts.
[Yang Kai was pursued by the Chaos Spirit King after he had parted with Ou Yang Lie. In other words, he must have gone seeking trouble with the Chaos Spirit King and perhaps even snatched back the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill he had lost; otherwise, the Chaos Spirit King wouldn’t have reacted like that.]
[With Yang Kai’s means and strength, it should have been easy for him to throw off the Chaos Spirit King. He could have easily escaped by just using his Space Secret Technique a few times.]
[Yang Kai must have let himself be pursued on purpose, probably because he was afraid the Chaos Spirit King would start attacking the others in its fury. So, he decided to keep it preoccupied like this.]
[Even so, he wouldn’t have been killed by the Chaos Spirit King.]
In the end, the information he had was too little. Even with Mi Jing Lun’s intellect, it was difficult for him to deduce what had happened to Yang Kai. He only knew that something must have happened to him; otherwise, he would have appeared long ago.
Today, Mi Jing Lun made his way to the Star Boundary without alerting anyone and appeared inside High Heaven Palace.
When Head Manager Hua Qing Si learned of his arrival, she hurriedly came to greet him. Mi Jing Lun explained his purpose for coming, to which Hua Qing Si naturally agreed. After making some arrangements, Mi Jing Lun met Xia Ning Chang, who was staying at High Heaven Palace.
All of Yang Kai’s Wives were currently assigned to the Suppressing Black Ink Army, stationed just outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, under Fu Guang’s command, resisting the Black Ink Clan.
The only exception was Xia Ning Chang, who was proficient in Alchemy.
There was a constant need for supplies during a war, especially pills. The soldiers needed pills to cultivate and heal their injuries.
As such, the status of Alchemists had risen to unheard of heights, especially Great Grandmasters like Xia Ning Chang. They were practically indispensable to ensure the smooth progress of the war.
How could Mi Jing Lun bear to deploy such a person to the front lines? Basically, all the Alchemists and Artifact Refiners had been gathered on the safe and secure Star Boundary. Every year, a massive amount of resources would be sent to the Star Boundary, where they would be refined into pills and artifacts before being sent to the front lines.
Mi Jing Lun and Xia Ning Chang did not know each other. They had never even met before, but because of Yang Kai, and Xia Ning Chang’s attainments in the Dao of Alchemy, Mi Jing Lun still knew a little about her.
The reason he had come to Xia Ning Chang was because she was the one who was most familiar with Yang Kai.
Inside High Heaven Palace’s reception hall, Mi Jing Lun, after waiting for a short while, saw Xia Ning Chang arrive.
Although it was difficult to see her countenance because of her veil, a hint of fatigue could be seen in her eyes, which should have been bright and clear. Mi Jing Lun could smell an extremely strong medicinal fragrance wafting from her, and also noticed that although Xia Ning Chang had specially combed her hair, it was still a little messy. How could he not know that she had constantly remained inside her Pill Room? She probably had not rested for many years.
Women always paid attention to their appearance, so if it wasn’t for the fact that she didn’t have the time and could not bother to care about it, why would she not take good care of herself?
“Greetings, Supreme Commander Mi!” Xia Ning Chang elegantly bowed to Mi Jing Lung. She had naturally heard of him, the one running the Supreme Headquarters and directing the overall situation of the war, commanding the various Armies in the battle against the Black Ink Clan. She also admired him very much.
Mi Jing Lun promptly stood up and helped her up, “Madam Xia is too polite.”
After exchanging some pleasantries, both took their seats.
Mi Jing Lun was still pondering on how he should ask her about Yang Kai, but to his surprise, Xia Ning Chang was the one who asked him, “Did Supreme Commander Mi come here to inquire about my Husband?”
Mi Jing Lun was stunned for a moment before nodding his affirmation, “Indeed!” He then asked curiously, “Madam doesn’t seem worried?”
He didn’t see any sign of worry in Xia Ning Chang’s eyes. Logically speaking, as Yang Kai’s Wife, Xia Ning Chang shouldn’t have been able to remain so calm after not having heard anything about her Husband for so many years.
Under the veil, a smile seemed to have appeared on Xia Ning Chang’s lips, “How could I not be worried? It’s just that my Husband should be fine.”
Hearing her say so, Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “How can you be so sure?”
He had failed to find any clues on Yang Kai’s whereabouts, so how could Xia Ning Chang confirm that Yang Kai was safe? Had it been many years ago, when Yang Kai was in control of that artifact called the Loyalty List, they could still determine Yang Kai’s situation through the life and death of the people who had left their names on the Loyalty List. But back when Yang Kai embarked on his journey to the Black Ink Battlefield, he voluntarily lifted the restrictions placed on the nine people on the Loyalty List. Yang Kai no longer had any life-and-death relationship with them.
Xia Ning Chang was silent for a moment before replying, “A feeling?”
Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but break into a fit of laughter. How could she judge such a big matter based on her feelings? It was simply too childish.
Xia Ning Chang added, “This Mistress and Husband met each other when we were still young disciples of High Heaven Pavilion. Senior Sister Su Yan was also with us. In the beginning, Husband’s aptitude for cultivation was very poor and he was almost kicked out of the Sect…”
Recalling the past, the corners of Xia Ning Chang’s eyes curled up like crescent moons. Obviously, she was fondly remembering those times.
Mi Jing Lun didn’t interrupt her and quietly listened. Only now did he realize that Yang Kai’s rise to power was no different than an insignificant character’s arduous struggle.
From being a sweeper in a small Sect in a remote backwater world, he had grown up to become a cornerstone of the entire Human Race, a symbol of faith. Such a journey required outstanding willpower, and he had clearly put in far more effort than those born with extraordinary talent.
Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but heave a long sigh, “When great waves wash away the sand, one’s spirit is revealed, and only as the ocean flows can one’s true colours be seen.”
Xia Ning Chang lifted her hand and brushed her hair behind her ear, “Husband has always accomplished great things. We Sisters have been under his wings for many years; but oftentimes, we are unable to help him. In fact, everyone is quite anxious, so whether it is Sister Ru Meng or Senior Sister Su Yan, all of them have been diligently cultivating all these years, hoping that someday, even if they cannot help Husband, they will not become a burden to him.”
Mi Jing Lun solemnly stated, “Madam Xia, there is no need to be so serious. Yu Ru Meng and the others are currently at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction under Senior Fu Guang’s command, resisting the Black Ink Clan inside the Grand Restriction while ensuring its integrity. They have been working hard for many years without anyone to rely on. Madam, you might not have been fighting on the battlefront, but you have been refining pills for the Human Race, doing your absolute best. All of you are exemplary figures of the Human Race. No one would dare to say that you are a burden.”
Xia Ning Chang continued with a smile, “The Black Ink Clan’s invasion concerns the survival of the Human Race, so we naturally must do our best. We are doing what we can, and so is my Husband. For many years, my Husband has been constantly on the move, often there are no news for many years. Back when he first entered the Black Ink Battlefield without hesitation or looking back, there had been no news of him for almost 1,000 years, but…”
She paused for a moment before her tone became firm, “But, Husband has never disappointed us Sisters. We just need to wait, and no matter where Husband is, no matter what happens, he will return to us some day.”
This was the reason why she felt that Yang Kai was fine, because many people were waiting for him! And he had never disappointed those who had been waiting for him.
Mi Jing Lun remained silent.
After a while, Xia Ning Chang stood up and left.
Mi Jing Lun also left High Heaven Palace with Hua Qing Si and flew out of the Star Boundary.
In the void, Mi Jing Lun suddenly stopped, glancing back.
Although he had come here looking for answers, he had not gained anything factual. Xia Ning Chang was undoubtedly unaware of whether Yang Kai was alive or dead, she simply expressed her absolute confidence and hope in him.
She believed that Yang Kai would return safely one day, just like how he had suddenly killed his way back from the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield, quelling the war in Profound Nether Territory in one fell swoop.
It could be said that Madam Xia had blind faith in this man, but there was nothing wrong with that.
However, as the Supreme Commander of the Human Race’s Armies, planning the movement of every soldier, Mi Jing Lun couldn’t afford to have any delusions. He had to be prepared for the worst. What would he do if Yang Kai had really met with a mishap and died in some unexplored place?
War could not tolerate any unrealistic fantasies!
The Human Race was not made up of just one man, it consisted of every Human being. Yang Kai had done more than enough for the Human Race. It was because of his actions that the Human Race had been able to steadily develop for thousands of years and build up their current strength.
If the Human Race failed to defeat the Black Ink Clan even after this, it would be because the Human Race had lacked in effort. As the favoured children of this era, they had to bear the responsibility alongside the fortune. If they couldn’t survive this crisis, they were destined to be abandoned by this era.
In the end, this era still belonged to the Human Race!
…..
Somewhere in the void, a figure was rapidly moving across. The figure was surrounded by deathly and desolate Universe Worlds, as well as all kinds of magnificent Celestial Phenomena filled with unknown dangers.
Thunder Shadow’s voice rang out, “Second Brother, are you lost?”
Fang Tian Ci gloomily stated, “Big Brother said to go in the opposite direction, and that’s where I’m going. This is the literal edge of the Universe. It should be quite far from the 3,000 Worlds. Don’t be impatient!”
“Why don’t I take the helm for a while?” Thunder Shadow suggested, mainly because he had been idling for too long and wanted to come out and stretch.
“You don’t understand the Dao of Space, so giving the helm to you will only slow things down.”
“Fine, fine, you continue.”
The war between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan suddenly became even more intense. Large and small battles frequently broke out on the raging battlefields, often lasting months before ending.
In such high-intensity battles, both the Human Race or the Black Ink Clan suffered huge casualties, especially the Black Ink Clan. Although they far outnumbered the Humans, it was precisely because of their numbers that their casualties in each battle were so horrific.
Nonetheless, the upper echelons of the Black Ink Clan would never feel distressed about this. The Black Ink Clan was different from the Human Race. The Human Race needed a lot of time and resources to cultivate even one Open Heaven Realm Master, but the Black Ink Clansmen were all spawned from Black Ink Nests. So long as they had enough resources, they could endlessly raise more troops.
Essentially all the Black Ink Clansmen below Feudal Lord rank were cannon fodder. In any battle, they were often the first to be dispatched to exhaust the strength of the Human Race.
A war had broken out in Great Storm Territory. A fleet of numerous Human Race Warships split on the battlefield, outflanking the Black Ink Clan Army. Meanwhile, the battle on the main front raged like a wildfire.
Furthermore, the higher-ups of the both sides had also established a battlefield away from the main battlefield where the Eighth-Order Masters fought with the Territory Lords, and the Ninth-Order Masters faced the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
To a certain extent, the battle between the top Masters from both sides would directly affect the outcome of the battle on the main battlefield, because once the powerhouses of one side gained the upper hand, they would be able to suppress the enemy on the main battlefield.
In Great Storm Territory, two Human Race Armies happened to be fighting against the Black Ink Clan Army. One was the Azure Sun Army under Luo Ting He’s command, while the other was the original Great Storm Army of Great Storm Territory.
After reclaiming Azure Sun Territory, the Azure Sun Army had converged with the Army of this Territory, greatly bolstering their strength.
Originally, it would not have been difficult to reclaim Great Storm Territory, but with the birth of a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords and their addition to the Black Ink Clan Army, it made the war far less predictable.
A mere Pseudo-Royal Lord was indeed no match for a Ninth-Order Master, but there were far too many Pseudo-Royal Lords.
This was not the first time the two sides were fighting. Both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had clashed with each other multiple times over the past few years, enough to already become familiar with each other.
But this time, something different and unexpected happened.
When the battle started, a fearsome aura suddenly appeared out of thin air somewhere on the battlefield, and immediately after, they could sense the death of a Pseudo-Royal Lord from that direction.
This sudden turn of events left many of the Black Ink Clansmen bewildered, thinking that another Ninth-Order Master had been born. However, when they recognized that it was none other than Xiang Shan, they actually felt relieved.
No new Ninth-Order Master had been born in the Human Race, Xiang Shan had simply come to lend support.
The Black Ink Clan wasn’t completely unprepared for this. The Black Ink Clan Master, who was commanding the Black Ink Clan Army this time, instantly dispatched several Pseudo-Royal Lords to intercept Xiang Shan, while also passing on this news up the chain of command.
Xiang Shan’s appearance in Great Storm Territory meant that the Great Territory Battlefield he was originally in charge of had no Ninth-Order Master at this moment. This happened to be a good opportunity for the Black Ink Clan; perhaps they could use it to deal a heavy blow to the Human Race.
The Black Ink Clan had suffered a huge loss in this battle. Furthermore, with Xiang Shan and Luo Ting He teaming up, the lives of the Pseudo-Royal Lords were hanging by a thread.
But in the end, it still amounted to nothing!
Ultimately, Xiang Shan could not stay for too long. He immediately returned to the Great Territory Battlefield where the Blood Flame Army was stationed after the battle had come to an end. A battle had also broken out there, and without a Ninth-Order Master overseeing the situation, things were definitely not good for the Blood Flame Army.
The same tactic was continuously used in other Great Territory Battlefields as well. The Armies of both sides fought back and forth, reducing every Great Territory into a meat grinder.
Although the Human Race’s fierce offensive had failed to recover their lost territory, it had caused unimaginable losses to the Black Ink Clan. Not to mention anything else, just the amount of cannon fodder on Black Ink Clan’s side had decreased a lot by the next battle.
If nothing unexpected happened, this dire situation would likely continue for many years until one side was no longer capable of continuing.
Unfortunately, something unexpected happened; the awakening of a Royal Lord.
At the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye, who had returned from the Universe Furnace World and was slumbering inside a Black Ink Nest, had finally recovered after nearly 100 years.
The first thing he did was pay a visit to Royal Lord Mo Yu and inquire about the current battle situation. After learning that the Human Race had already reclaimed six Great Territories and was currently going toe to toe with the Black Ink Clan in the remaining Great Territory Battlefields, Mo Na Ye was slightly taken aback.
When they were in the Universe Furnace, four new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had emerged in the Human Race, along with quite a lot of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. As the Human Race’s strength had greatly increased, it was not surprising for them to achieve such results in the battle.
What took him by surprise was that the Black Ink Clan was able to defend the remaining Great Territory Battlefields without losing any ground.
Originally, he had thought that the Black Ink Clan would have lost all the Great Territory Battlefields by now.
“Sir, which battlefield is Yang Kai on?” Mo Na Ye asked. Although he had already become a Royal Lord, he still considered himself a subordinate before Mo Yu. He had no intention of competing with Mo Yu for power because the latter was still stronger.
Mo Yu was very satisfied with the way Mo Na Ye addressed him. To be honest, when Mo Na Ye returned from the Universe Furnace, he was greatly shocked by the latter’s advancement to becoming a Royal Lord. Although he looked extremely wretched and miserable at that time, it was an undeniable fact that he had become a true Royal Lord.
Furthermore, Mo Na Ye looked extremely flustered at that time, as if he was being chased by something terrifying.
He later came to know that Mo Na Ye was running from Yang Kai.
When Mo Na Ye inquired about the killing star, a furrow appeared on Mo Yu’s face as he replied, “Funny you asked, I’ve also ordered others to investigate Yang Kai’s whereabouts after your return, but they failed to find anything. Furthermore, we haven’t seen any trace of him all these years. It seems that the Humans are also looking for him. According to some information obtained from Black Ink Disciples, Yang Kai went missing after the Universe Furnace closed.”
“Missing?” Mo Na Ye was extremely astounded, “How did he go missing?”
Mo Yu’s face turned gloomy, “Are you questioning me?”
Mo Na Ye quickly bowed, “This subordinate doesn’t dare! But… it’s very strange.”
Mo Yu took a deep look at him before nodding and continuing, “It’s strange indeed! I’ve also been on guard against him coming to the No-Return Pass to cause trouble these years, but he is indeed missing; otherwise, he would have definitely shown up by now.”
Mo Yu knew that Yang Kai had already advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. When he had first heard this news, he had also been nervous; after all, Yang Kai was quite difficult to deal with. When Yang Kai was just an Eighth-Order Master, he could already cause a great ruckus in the No-Return Pass. Yang Kai had killed many Innate Territory Lords and destroyed many High-Rank Black Ink Nests right under Mo Na Ye’s nose back then.
Now that this killing star had reached the Ninth Order, it would be even more difficult to deal with him. If he really showed up at the No-Return Pass and kicked up a storm, Mo Yu wouldn’t be surprised.
Just because of this, Mo Yu had made a lot of preparations, but none of them had been used yet.
Standing below in the Grand Hall, Mo Na Ye had an extremely bewildered look on his face, as if he had just heard some unbelievable news. The very man who had pushed him to the brink of death, had actually gone missing?
“Hahaha…” Mo Na Ye couldn’t help but break into laughter.
He finally understood why the Black Ink Clan was still able to defend those Great Territory Battlefields. It turned out that Yang Kai had not appeared. If he had, the Pseudo-Royal Lords in those Great Territory Battlefields would have been completely useless, no matter how many of them there were. Yang Kai would have found an opportunity to ambush and slaughter them long ago.
“The Universe Furnace is filled with danger. Could he have encountered some kind of unpredictable crisis inside and died there?” Mo Yu asked.
Mo Na Ye denied, shaking his head, “With his current strength, he can’t die, but there are indeed many inexplicable mysteries in the Universe Furnace. Perhaps… he is trapped?”
He could not say anything with absolute certainty. Nonetheless, it was extremely strange that he had not seen Yang Kai after returning from the Universe Furnace. However, he was in a hurry to escape at that time, so he could not bother to give it too much thought. And after returning to the No-Return Pass, he had immediately entered the Black Ink Nest to rest and recover.
[By the looks of it, Yang Kai is most likely trapped inside the Universe Furnace, unable to escape; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to not appear all these years.]
Mo Yu stated, “Whether he is dead or trapped, it’s a good thing. The Black Ink Clan will have one less nemesis to worry about. Mo Na Ye, I know everything you have faced in the Universe Furnace, but you don’t need to be afraid of him now. You are a Royal Lord, so even if you run into him, you’ll still have the strength to fight back.”
Mo Na Ye respectfully replied, “You’re absolutely right, Sir.”
Mo Na Ye recalled his battle with Yang Kai in the Universe Furnace. At that time, he was already not at his peak. Although Yang Kai had just broken through, his injuries were much more severe than Yang Kai’s, and that was the reason Yang Kai had the upper hand; otherwise, he would not have lost so miserably.
But it was an undeniable fact that Yang Kai’s strength was formidable. Mo Na Ye was certain that even if both of them were at the peak of their strength, he still would not be a match for Yang Kai. On the other hand, Yang Kai could not kill him that easily either.
“Since you’ve come out of seclusion, I’ll leave all the affairs of the Black Ink Clan to you, just like in the past. Back then, you were just a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but now that you are a Royal Lord, you have the qualifications to command the entire Black Ink Clan Army, including this King!”
Mo Yu’s voice was firm and decisive.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed slightly. It could not have been easy for Mo Yu to say something like that. Mo Yu might not have much talent in military strategy, but he did have one advantage, and that was that he knew how to use people well.
He had been using Mo Na Ye all these years, and that was the best proof in itself.
From the start, Mo Na Ye had never intended to compete with him for power, and after hearing this, there was not even the slightest bit of dissent in his heart.
He immediately bowed, “Many thanks for trusting me, Sir.”
Mo Yu slowly said, “Everything is for the Supreme One’s will. Black Ink Eternal!”
Mo Na Ye also solemnly shouted, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Very soon, he summoned all the personnel responsible for collecting information from everywhere and spent several days collecting and sorting information in the Black Ink Clan’s hand.
Two days after sorting everything, he visited Royal Lord Mo Yu and told him about his plan.
Mo Yu was slightly startled by Mo Na Ye’s plan and marvelled Mo Na Ye’s boldness, but after giving it a careful thought, he found Mo Na Ye’s proposal reasonable. Furthermore, the fact that he had come to ask for his opinion before taking action also pleased Mo Yu and made him feel that he had not misjudged Mo Na Ye. He immediately nodded his agreement, “Since you think so, then you can do as you wish.”
Consequently, Great Storm Territory was finally recaptured by the combined forces of the Azure Sun Army and the Great Storm Army after a fierce month-long battle. The Black Ink Clan Army, on the other hand, carried on fighting while retreating, leaving countless corpses across the void as they retreated from Great Storm Territory.
When its news reached the Supreme Headquarters and Mi Jing Lun received this piece of glorious news, there was no joy on his face.
Rather, a sigh escaped his lips. He knew that Mo Na Ye had most likely come out of seclusion!
“Mo Na Ye is probably out of seclusion!” Stated Mi Jing Lun, standing in front of a giant Universe Chart inside the Supreme Headquarters Main Conference Hall.
The Universe Chart was specially created by the Human Race and was used to simulate the situation of the various Great Territories. This Universe Chart included all the Great Territories known to the Human Race. Even the Black Ink Battlefield was presented to everyone in a translucent manner.
Nearly 99% of the display was dyed black, representing the area occupied by the Black Ink Clan.
Only a few locations were not dyed in black. These were the Great Territories currently under the Human Race’s control, including the few Great Territory Battlefields that they had recently been reclaimed.
While speaking, Mi Jing Lun raised his hand and circulated his strength. Immediately after, the Universe Chart started to change a little before everyone’s eyes as the pitch-black darkness blanketing one of the Great Territories began to fade.
Everyone could clearly see that it was the location of Great Storm Territory.
Those gathered here were the brightest of the brightest gathered from all over to serve under Mi Jing Lun. They formed the think tank of the Human Race.
The cultivation of these people ranged from low to high. Some were Eighth-Order Masters, while others were only in the Fourth-Order. They might not have fought on the battlefield, but it was an irrefutable fact that they had played a huge role in the Human Race resisting the Black Ink Clan’s invasion all these years.
Every single military order sent to various Great Territories was meticulously discussed between them and Mi Jing Lun.
Seeing Mi Jing Lun’s action, someone exclaimed in surprise, “Great Storm has been reclaimed?”
Mi Jing Lun would only make changes to the Universe Chart like this when a Great Territory was recovered.
Mi Jing Lun nodded his affirmation as he passed a jade slip, “This is the battle report I’ve just received from the front lines. The Azure Sun Army and Great Storm Army jointly captured the Black Ink Clan’s main camp three days ago and seized control of Great Storm Territory.”
Everyone immediately gathered around and began reading the jade slip one by one. A look of joy appeared on the faces of many, but there were also some with tight furrows on their brow; they faintly felt that something was wrong.
Nearly 100 years ago, when the projection of the Universe Furnace reappeared, the Human Race, which was already prepared, gave the Black Ink Clan a good beating and killed a lot of their Masters.
Furthermore, with Xiang Shan and Ou Yang Lie returning as Ninth-Order Masters, the Blood Flame and Profound Nether Armies reclaimed their respective Great Territories just a few years later under their leadership.
Over the next few years, the Human Race Armies’ morale was through the roof as they swiftly reclaimed a total of four Great Territories. So, counting Azure Sun and Wolf Fang Territories, the Human Race had already regained six of the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields.
Unfortunately, their good days soon came to an end. The next couple of decades were filled with arduous struggles and horrific battles.
The Black Ink Clan had produced dozens of Pseudo-Royal Lords out of thin air, erasing the advantages brought about by the Ninth-Order Human Masters. Over the next 100 or so years, the Human Race had not been able to make any significant progress and had failed to recover any more Great Territories.
Yet they were suddenly able to recapture Great Storm Territory despite it being a pure stalemate just months ago. This was quite strange.
Furthermore, there also appeared to be a little problem with the battle report. Those with sharp minds had already noticed that something was amiss.
Combined with what Mi Jing Lun had said at the beginning, someone couldn’t help asking, “Sir Mi, why are you so certain that Mo Na Ye has come out of seclusion?”
Mi Jing Lun happened to be deep in thought, looking at the Universe Chart. Hearing the opposite party’s question, he replied with a question of his own, “First, tell me about the battle report. What does everyone think?”
The person who had spoken just now replied, “At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be any problem. It looks like the Human Race won a momentous victory and killed countless enemies, but upon closer inspection, the Black Ink Clan’s casualties aren’t significant. Also, not a single Pseudo-Royal Lord was killed.”
Many nodded in agreement, and those who had not realized the problem had also come to catch on at this moment.
It was a battle that concerned total control over a Great Territory, so it stood to reason that the Black Ink Clan would have gone all out. But if that really was the case, they should not have suffered so few casualties.
In every single battle that had reclaimed a Great Territory, one or two Pseudo-Royal Lords had always been killed.
This time though, not a single one of them had fallen. A simple Three Fortunes Formation formed by Pseudo-Royal Lords could fight evenly with a Ninth-Order Master or several Six Paths Formations formed by Eighth-Order Human Race Masters.
“Did the Black Ink Clan give up the Territory?” Someone shouted.
Mi Jing Lun replied with a nod, rubbing his forehead, “By the looks of it, the Black Ink Clan should have decided to withdraw from Great Storm Territory long ago, and have just taken advantage of the Human Race’s attack to carry out their retreat. If I’m not mistaken, the other Great Territories should also be recovered very soon.”
Recovering the lost territory was a cause for celebration; after all, the Human Race had been working hard all these years to achieve this very goal. Retaking the lost territories would give meaning to the sacrifices of countless soldiers.
However, the current situation was not what the Human Race wanted to see.
“Retreating instead of defending to enlarge the battlefront. It really does smell like Mo Na Ye,” a voice came from the corner.
Over the years, everyone had fought against Mo Na Ye’s schemes many times under Mi Jing Lun’s leadership. It was a battle of wits and strategy using the deployment of their respective Armies. As such, everyone was quite familiar with Mo Na Ye’s tactics.
The Black Ink Clan had been stubbornly resisting and defending the various Great Territory Battlefields for the past 100 years, but now they had suddenly changed tactics. It was obvious that someone of great authority was behind this. It could be none other than Mo Na Ye.
In fact, when the Human Race had reclaimed six Great Territory Battlefields, Mi Jing Lun had said that recovering the lost territories was not entirely a good thing.
The Human Race’s goal was not just to recover their lost territories, but also to injure, or preferably kill, as many Black Ink Clansmen as possible. If they could recover their lost territories, and also kill a large number of enemies at the same time, that would be the perfect scenario.
It was because there were simply far too many Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds.
The Black Ink Clan may have lost a Great Territory, but they could still retreat to another. So long as they had not lost too many soldiers, losing a Great Territory could not be considered a significant loss for the Black Ink Clan. The only difference for them was a change of battlefield.
In contrast, things were very different for the Human Race. Every time they reclaimed a Great Territory, it would extend the frontlines further. This would not only create problems with logistics, but once the frontline was stretched too thin, it would most likely isolate the Armies at the forefront, allowing the Black Ink Clan to counterattack.
The best option would have naturally been to maintain the current situation. The Human Race could continuously thin out the Black Ink Clan’s forces until the enemy no longer had the strength to resist. By then, it would be a piece of cake for the Human Race Armies to reclaim the 3,000 Worlds and completely eradicate the Black Ink Clan in one fell swoop.
Thus, although the Human Race had not been able to take back any more Great Territories for the past 100 or so years, every time a war broke out, the Human Race would do everything possible to kill as many Black Ink Clansmen as they could.
The Human Race was more than happy to see the Black Ink Clan fighting to the death in the various Great Territory Battlefields.
But now, the Black Ink Clan had suddenly adopted the exact opposite strategy…
This was quite unfortunate.
“It has been almost 100 years since the Universe Furnace closed. That is ample time for Mo Na Ye to fully recover from his injuries. So, it’s not that surprising for him to come out of his seclusion now. Furthermore, he already has experience in commanding the Black Ink Clan. Mo Yu will value him even more now that he has become a Royal Lord!”
Mi Jing Lun’s heart was filled with regret. If Yang Kai hadn’t met with some unknown mishap, he would have definitely eliminated Mo Na Ye and they would have nothing to worry about.
According to the information they had gathered, Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye entered the Universe Furnace from the same location. After the Universe Furnace closed, they should have appeared at the same time and at the same place. Mo Na Ye was seriously injured at that time, so how could he be Yang Kai’s opponent?
Unfortunately, Yang Kai disappeared after that earth-shattering battle in the Universe Furnace, which gave Mo Na Ye a chance to escape with his life.
By the looks of it, Yang Kai did not appear with Mo Na Ye when the Universe Furnace closed. Could it be that he was trapped inside the Universe Furnace?
If that was the case, who knows how long it would take for him to escape?
“Supreme Commander Mi, how should we respond to the Black Ink Clan’s strategy?” Someone asked.
Mi Jing Lun bitterly smiled, “This is open intrigue, an obvious trap, but we have no choice but to swallow the bait thrown by the Black Ink Clan!”
Great Storm Territory had been reclaimed already, so why would they not want it? This was true for the other Great Territories as well.
It was very easy to predict that the Human Race would definitely reap successive victories in the coming years, reclaiming numerous Great Territories in succession.
With every Great Territory reclaimed though, the front lines would extend further and move farther away. The Human Race would have to leave behind some troops to defend the Great Territories they had reclaimed, which would weaken the Army’s strength with every new Great Territory seized.
Once the front line was stretched enough, and the Black Ink Clan was confident of easily resisting the Human Race, they would launch their counterattack.
This was another battle of wits and courage.
As Mi Jing Lun had expected, the Supreme Headquarters kept receiving news of success from the different battlefronts over the next few months.
Divine Wind Territory had been reclaimed by the combined forces of the Twin Poles Army and Divine Wind Army, with the Black Ink Clan’s main camp being swiftly occupied.
Purple Feather Territory had been reclaimed by the combined forces of the Purple Feather Army and Profound Nether Army, killing countless enemies.
The Cloud Sword Territory had been reclaimed…
The Brahma Territory was taken back…
Reports came in one after another. After a year, the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields where the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had been fighting for thousands of years had all fallen into the hands of the Human Race. The Human Race Armies were triumphantly marching forward in high spirits.
As the news of this spread to the Star Boundary, Myriad Monster World, and the Universe Worlds in the New Great Territory, all living there celebrated in jubilation.
Ever since the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, gloom and darkness had shrouded the Human Race. But today, everyone finally saw the light and a glimmer of victory in the pitch-black darkness. It seemed as if the Human Race would be able to reconquer the Great Territories one after another as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, restoring peace to the 3,000 Worlds.
Only a few people understood that these beautiful dreams would not really come true.
The real war had just begun.
Who knows how much blood would be shed, how many would die in this bloody war which concerned the fate of the two Races?
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was struggling hard on his way back.
Thunder Shadow’s voice rang in Yang Kai’s mind, “Big Brother, you can do it! Just a little faster and we will be able to escape!”
Thunder Shadow sounded panicked and clearly a little nervous.
This could not be helped as Yang Kai happened to be in the middle of a crisis.
Originally, he believed that after advancing to the Ninth Order, he would be able to roam the Universe without any worry. Even if he were to run into someone stronger, he could still escape.
Now though, he found himself completely helpless against this strange Celestial Phenomenon he had encountered on his way back.
Along the way, he was patiently digesting the insights he had gained in the Universe Furnace, leaving Fang Tian Ci to pilot his physical body. Under normal circumstances, he would have steered clear of any Celestial Phenomenon he encountered; however, the Celestial Phenomenon he ran into this time caught him completely by surprise.
At the edge of the Universe lay Chaos which the Universe Furnace continuously devoured before spewing out the evolved 10,000 Grand Daos, causing the world to expand endlessly.
Each Universe World’s birth originated from the Universe Furnace, and each grand and majestic Celestial Phenomenon also stemmed from it.
On the way back, countless Celestial Phenomena of different shapes and sizes appeared, each harbouring immense danger. Fang Tian Ci, who controlled Yang Kai’s body, avoided them as much as possible as he dared not approach them easily; however, there came a moment of carelessness.
This Celestial Phenomenon was similar to a Black Hole. Its size was not particularly large, seemingly only slightly larger than a regular Universe World, but it was discreet enough to go unnoticed.
Fang Tian Ci was caught off guard, causing him to be involuntarily drawn towards this Celestial Phenomenon, and by the time he realised what was happening, it was already too late.
This seemingly ordinary Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon emitted an overwhelming devouring force, causing everything nearby to collapse towards it.
Despite trying several times to manipulate Space Principles to escape, Fang Tian Ci was unable to do so, and even after Yang Kai took over, he could not break free.
Under the terrifying devouring force, the surrounding Void became highly viscous and distorted, greatly reducing the effectiveness of Space Principles in this area.
Now, Yang Kai was like a fallen leaf caught in a vortex in the middle of a vast sea, constantly revolving around the Black Hole, getting closer and closer to it with each orbit.
No one knew what dangers lay within the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon, but it was undeniable that once one had fallen into it, they would surely meet a terrible end.
Unable to break free, Yang Kai could only go with the flow and travel at full speed in the direction pulled by the devouring force, hoping to escape the grasp of the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon and snatch life from the gates of death.
Round after round, the pull of the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon, combined with Yang Kai’s own actions, caused him to speed up, already far surpassing Yang Kai’s physical limit.
Moving at such a terrifying speed put a massive strain on the body, and if it were not for Yang Kai’s strong physique, he would have already been torn to shreds.
Fortunately, he now possessed the body of the Divine Dragon with a powerful Dragon Vein, so despite feeling immense pressure, he could still barely persist.
Thunder Shadow constantly cheered him on. It would still be a worthy death if he were to die fighting against Royal Lords, but to die in a place like this would simply be unacceptable.
After circling countless times, picking up speed the entire time, Yang Kai felt himself reach a critical point, followed by him suddenly feeling his body loosen. Then, as the gravitational force from the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon could no longer bind him, he channelled all the force he could and propelled himself in a great arc and swiftly escaped from the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon, leaving it far behind.
Thunder Shadow cheered, and Fang Tian Ci, tense the whole time, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t until they were very far away from the Black Hole Celestial Phenomenon and could no longer feel its pull that Yang Kai slowly lowered his speed and looked around.
Then, he stopped Fang Tian Ci from taking control of his body. Years of comprehension had allowed him to fully digest his gains in the Universe Furnace.
“These Celestial Phenomena are truly unpredictable and difficult to defend against,” Thunder Shadow said, “We’re lucky that Big Brother is quick-witted, or we three Brothers might have been done for. Second Brother, you should learn from him.”
Fang Tian Ci remained silent, feeling that they were both Soul Clones of the original, so praising him was the same as boasting about themselves…
But on this journey, they really had seen too many Celestial Phenomena; all grand and mysterious, yet unpredictable. These natural creations were truly beyond Human strength to resist.
Perhaps only by reaching the Creation Realm could one unravel the mysteries within, but what kind of wondrous realm was the Creation Realm?
“Big Brother, did we go the wrong way? We’ve been travelling for so long yet still haven’t found our way home,” Thunder Shadow asked again.
Yang Kai shook his head, “The location of the Universe Furnace is at the edge of the Universe. Since this Universe was created by the Universe Furnace, going in the opposite direction should be correct. It just means that the Universe is far more vast than we thought.”
“It’s been about 100 years, hasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Although it was impossible to calculate the exact time spent in this void, judging from the passage of time in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, it had indeed been over 100 years since they left the Universe Furnace.
During these 100 years, while Fang Tian Ci had been driving, Yang Kai had also tried to connect with the World Tree from time to time to see if he could establish contact with the Old Tree, but unfortunately, he made no progress.
It had to be noted that when he rushed back from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon back then, it only took him a few years.
At this moment, the position where they were located was undoubtedly in the farthest reaches of the Universe.
Sometimes, Yang Kai would wonder if he had lost their way, but on this silent journey through the void, there were no suitable reference points to discern the correct direction.
After flying forward for a while, he came across a Universe World, and Yang Kai descended to it.
He then carefully sensed his surroundings.
Thunder Shadow was at a loss at the sight and didn’t know what Yang Kai was doing, so he quietly asked Fang Tian Ci, “Is Big Brother looking for something?”
After pondering for a moment, Fang Tian Ci answered, “He should be investigating whether there have been any changes in this Universe World.”
“Changes?” Thunder Shadow became even more bewildered.
“The Universe Furnace splits Heaven and Earth apart, constantly expanding the Universe. The Universe Worlds that are spewed out from the furnace were all barren and lifeless, with not even basic World Principles. However, after countless eons of accumulation, the 10,000 Grand Daos which make up the Universe itself will eventually allow these Universe Worlds to undergo some changes. Their World Principles will gradually form and improve, and vitality will spring up in the World, giving rise to life. Every Universe World in the 3,000 Worlds should have been born this way.”
“So what?” Thunder Shadow became even more confused upon hearing that.
Fang Tian Ci almost choked, not knowing how to explain it to him.
Yang Kai chuckled, “We’re checking the completeness of the World Principles in the Universe Worlds we have encountered on our journey. The more complete they are, the closer we are to the 3,000 Worlds. The 3,000 Worlds may just contain the earliest Universe Worlds created from the Universe Furnace, which is why they are so wonderful and full of vitality.”
Finally, Thunder Shadow understood, “Oh, I see…” He couldn’t help but retort, “Second Brother, you’re so dumb. You can’t even explain something so simple. What’s the use of you?”
Fang Tian Ci seriously wanted to hit him!
Thunder Shadow asked again, “So, how about this Universe World? Are the World Principles complete?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Of course not. If the World Principles were complete, it would not be as barren and lifeless as this. But there are already signs of World Principles being born here. Maybe in several million years, this will be a thriving Universe World.”
Those words made Thunder Shadow thrilled, “That means we are headed in the right direction!”
“Correct!” Yang Kai replied with a smile and flew up into the sky, continuing on their journey.
He suddenly realised that it was a good thing that the wills of his Human Self and Monster Self had not been erased during the unification of the three Selves. At least, he wouldn’t be too lonely on this journey home!
Although Yang Kai didn’t know how many years it would take for them to return, he believed that as long as he kept heading in the right direction, he would eventually make it back.
After a moment, Thunder Shadow’s voice echoed in Yang Kai’s mind, “Big Brother, do you think our Universe is the only one?”
As Yang Kai travelled using his Space Secret Technique, he casually asked, “What do you mean?”
“Think about it, our Universe was created by the Universe Furnace from Chaos, and according to what you said, Big Brother, the 3,000 Worlds were the first to be born. But what if the Universe Furnace opened up some other Universes beyond the Chaos before the birth of the 3,000 Worlds, and we are just unaware of each other due to the sea of Chaos and vast distances between us?”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “That’s not pos…”
Initially, he wanted to say that it was impossible, but he suddenly realised that what Thunder Shadow said was not impossible at all. Chaos was boundless, and the void was limitless. If the Universe Furnace had indeed created another Universe somewhere in the sea of Chaos, and there was a barrier to it, it would be difficult to detect the existence of each other.
Just like when they were in the Star Boundary, they assumed it was their entire Universe until they went beyond it and discovered a wider world. Even in the currently known world, Yang Kai didn’t know what lay in the deeper parts of the Black Ink Battlefield because no one had ever explored it.
The unknown represented infinite possibilities.
Though Thunder Shadow had always been talkative and not used his brain much, his question made Yang Kai contemplate.
Before Yang Kai could answer, Thunder Shadow asked, “Did I say something wrong?”
In the Soul Warming Lotus, Fang Tian Ci suddenly looked at Thunder Shadow and said, “Third Brother, you are actually capable of saying thought-provoking things sometimes.”
Thunder Shadow became defensive upon hearing it, “What do you mean? Don’t think I don’t know you’re calling me stupid.”
“You said it yourself.”
“Second Brother, let’s fight! I’ve been holding back for too long!”
Ignoring the noise in his mind, Yang Kai smiled and thought to himself, [Is there really another Universe out there? If so, what would it look like?]
Whether there were other Universes or not, the only thing he needed to do was to return home as soon as possible. The Universe Furnace had closed, and the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan must have broken out in full force. Although the Humans had gained tremendous benefits in the Universe Furnace and had greatly increased their strength, the Black Ink Clan was never an easy opponent to deal with.
Yang Kai naturally recalled that before the appearance of the Universe Furnace, a gap had opened in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction which allowed a large number of Innate Territory Lords to escape. Although these Territory Lords were severely injured and not very useful right away, they should have restored their strength by now, and they would undoubtedly cause great trouble for the Humans.
It was still unknown who would emerge victorious in this war.
As Yang Kai travelled forward on his journey, he searched for a Universe World every few years to investigate the situation and determine his direction based on the completeness of the World Principles he found.
In this way, he could ensure that there were no large mistakes with his travelling direction.
There were too many unknown wonders in this vast universe. If Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry to return to the war, he would surely explore them thoroughly.
After 100 years went by, Yang Kai figured he should be getting closer to the 3,000 Worlds as the World Principles he observed in the Universe Worlds along the way were gradually being perfected.
Perhaps one day, when a Universe World was found with truly perfect World Principles, he would be close to the 3,000 Worlds.
…..
Since the appearance of the Universe Furnace and the outbreak of the two Races’ full-scale war, it had been almost 300 years, during which time one Great Territory after another had been successfully recovered by the Humans.
The rapid progress of the Humans could be attributed to the huge heritage accumulated over thousands of years and also to the Black Ink Clan’s active avoidance.
Therefore, although the Humans had reclaimed many Great Territories in recent years, the number of fallen Black Ink Clansmen was not high. Even if the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters personally made a move, it was difficult to kill those Pseudo-Royal Lords who already had countermeasures.
Years of fighting had made the Human Race Masters aware of some abnormalities. The Black Ink Clan was deliberately making them lengthen their battle lines, using the reclaimed Great Territories to weaken the strength of the Human Race Army while looking for opportunities to make a breakthrough.
But as Mi Jing Lun said in the Supreme Headquarters, this was open intrigue. The Black Ink Clan had thrown out their bait, and the Humans had to swallow it!
The 3,000 Worlds and the vast Great Territories were originally the Humans’, so faced with those victories that were easily within reach, the Human Race could not remain indifferent. After all, the ultimate goal of this war for the Humans was to expel these invaders.
To this end, the Humans had prepared many countermeasures.
First of all, every time a Great Territory was recovered, the Humans would block the Territory Gates, leaving only one necessary passage.
The Great Territories were connected by Territory Gates, and most Great Territories had several of them leading to other Great Territories, with the exception of a few Great Territories with only one Territory Gate.
Although these Territory Gates could ensure communication with the outside world, they could also become breakthrough points for the Black Ink Clan. In order to prevent this from happening, the Human Race had no choice but to completely seal off the extra Territory Gates.
Fortunately, there were still many Masters who were proficient in the Dao of Space, all of whom were from the Void Dao Temple and inherited Yang Kai’s legacy. With the help of the Phoenix Clan, it was not difficult to seal off these Territory Gates, though some time and resources were required.
After reclaiming each Great Territory, all Territory Gates except for the essential ones were sealed to ensure that the Black Ink Clan could not suddenly attack through them.
In addition, the Masters of each Army coordinated and reorganized each time more territory was taken.
At present, although the Human Race had only a few Ninth-Order Masters, they had a total of nine of them.
Yang Kai was missing, Wu Kuang and Yang Xue guarded the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were restrained the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in Wind Mist Territory, Ou Yang Lie commanded the Profound Nether Army, Xiang Shan commanded the Blood Flame Army, Luo Ting He commanded the Azure Sun Army, and Wei Jun Yang commanded the Wolf Fang Army.
With over 10 Armies, however, and only four Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters available, they couldn’t manage everything.
Under the arrangements of the Supreme Headquarters, many Masters were recruited to bolster the Armies that did not have a Ninth-Order Master, including many Divine Spirits, to ensure that each one had what it took to fight against the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
A large number of Warships and Evil Purging Divine Spears were also allocated to the frontline battlefields. With various measures in place, the Human Race Masters steadily swept away the Black Ink Clan in each Great Territory, never giving them any chance to rest.
However, as more and more Great Territories were reclaimed, the military strength of the Human Race’s Army that went to war constantly weakened. To guard those reclaimed Great Territories, it was inevitable that they had to divide their forces.
At present, there were not a lot of reclaimed Great Territories, so the Humans could still bear the burden, but there would always be a limit. Once the limit was surpassed, no matter how the Humans responded, there would unavoidably be gaps on the extended front line.
In fact, solving this problem was actually quite simple; they just needed enough troops. With enough soldiers, no matter how divided they were, they would have what it took to fight against the Black Ink Clan.
These troops came from the Second-Class or Third-Class Forces.
Many years ago, the upper echelons of the Human Race were already aware of this impending problem. During the great evacuation, too many Masters of the Human Race perished in the war, including some ancient inheritances, Sects, and even more Humans simply living in the various Universe Worlds. All were slaughtered by the Black Ink Clan!
These cultivators were weak, and even if they were transformed into Black Ink Disciples, they were of little use, so the Black Ink Clan would naturally not show mercy.
It could be said that during that great evacuation, the number of the Humans in the entire 3,000 Worlds was reduced by as much as 80%. Those who were still alive today were mostly just luckier.
If the Human Race’s population was larger, there would be more Masters to support the Army.
Therefore, after realising this problem, the Supreme Headquarters began to comprehensively encourage Human reproduction, hoping to give birth to more people. Even if this generation lacked the aptitude to cultivate, there would surely be some talented individuals in the next generation or the one after.
Over the years, there had been some effects, especially in the Star Boundary. It was common for an ordinary family to have five or six children, and many families became prosperous thanks to the Supreme Headquarters’ policy.
The Star Boundary had High Heaven Palace, Dao Temples of various Cave Heavens and Paradises, and the nourishment of the World Tree clone. Hence, the impact of the war that swept across the 3,000 Worlds on the Star Boundary was not significant; instead, the outbreak of the war brought more attention and resources to the Star Boundary.
On the other hand, the families and Sects that migrated from different Great Territories were not as lucky. During the war, nobody had the mood to set up and expand their families.
Before the New Great Territory was fully opened, these migrants were living in fear and uncertainty; they could only survive on Universe Fragments floating in the void, unable to see hope for the future.
It wasn’t until the New Great Territory was opened that these people migrated to Universe Worlds there and the situation improved slightly.
Nowadays, to supplement the Human Army’s strength, the Supreme Headquarters had issued orders once again to encourage more people to reproduce, even going so far as to offer rewards.
For every newborn, they would receive corresponding military merits. If the newborn had an aptitude to cultivate and reached different Realms, they would receive more military merits.
During the war, military merits were unquestionably valuable. Some had even calculated that if a child in a family or Sect could cultivate to the Emperor Realm, they would receive enough military merits to exchange for a set of Fifth-Order materials.
Such rewards were incredibly generous and were enough to make many small families and Sects tempted.
As a result, many babies had been born into the Human Race in recent decades, and the number of Humans had been greatly supplemented.
In many Universe Worlds, even ordinary men from common families were able to have multiple wives and concubines, daily feasting on sumptuous meals while having a weak and depleted body…
There was no right or wrong with the Supreme Headquarters implementing such measures as it was simply out of necessity. This war could last for countless years, and if they wanted to increase the Army’s strength, they had to increase their population base.
In short, the Humans had already prepared to fight this war for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
The biggest problem that arose from this was the supply of resources.
The Humans had limited resources available, just as it was when they defended over a dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields in the earlier years, and the situation had not improved much now.
Fortunately, after reclaiming many Great Territories, they could exploit the resources left by the Black Ink Clan, and when fighting against the Black Ink Clan Armies, they could also seize some of their resources.
The collecting or mining of resources in the New Great Territory had never stopped, barely supplying the needs of the large Army and rear lines.
However, in these years of fighting, the two Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan had never appeared on the battlefield.
When the Black Ink Clan only had one Royal Lord in the earlier years, it was normal for him not to participate in any battles. The No-Return Pass was the Black Ink Clan’s main camp, and injured Black Ink Clansmen would return there to heal in hibernation. The materials gathered from the Black Ink Battlefield would also be concentrated at the No-Return Pass. Besides, there was a large number of Black Ink Nests there.
Mo Yu did not dare to leave easily. Under various constraints, he could only guard the No-Return Pass all year round to prevent Human Race Masters from causing trouble, especially Yang Kai.
Currently, even though the Black Ink Clan had two Royal Lords, they still dared not leave the No-Return Pass easily. The reason was that several decades ago, the Humans had gathered the power of four Ninth-Order Masters and executed a beheading plan.
At that time, the four Ninth-Order Masters located on four different battlefields joined forces to invade the No-Return Pass to kill Mo Na Ye or Mo Yu.
That battle made the void in the No-Return Pass tremble and turned the Universe upside down.
However, in the end, the attack failed. Neither Mo Na Ye nor Mo Yu was easy to kill, and it seemed that the Black Ink Clan had anticipated such an attempt and had set up an ambush with more than 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass.
Three Pseudo-Royal Lords could contend against one Ninth-Order Master. Since the Humans only had four Ninth-Order Masters, it was difficult to gain the upper hand.
The result of that battle was that the aftermath destroyed several High-Rank Black Ink Nests, which was considered a small gain.
Seeing that they could not succeed in this kind of direct approach, the four Ninth-Order Masters could only temporarily withdraw. They couldn’t keep entangling with the Black Ink Clan, as without them present, the Black Ink Clan would definitely attack the frontlines.
Since then, the Humans had temporarily given up the idea of killing Mo Na Ye or Mo Yu. Under the various arrangements of the Supreme Headquarters, they proceeded steadily, recovering more Great Territories step by step.
The void was silent as the once bustling Great Territory had long become a lifeless wasteland.
There used to be several Universe Worlds nearby, but the Black Ink Clan Armies invaded and destroyed them, reducing them to scattered Universe Fragments.
For years, no one had visited this place except for occasional Black Ink Clansmen who came to check on the situation, but even they refused to stay for long.
Wind Mist Territory…
Since the brutal Barren Territory War, the only two surviving veteran Ninth-Order Masters had been guarding Wind Mist Territory for some 5,000 years.
Before Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing stood a magnificent and spectacular arm, extending from Barren Territory and breaking the boundary wall between two Great Territories, creating a passage that connected the two domains.
It was through this passage that the Black Ink Clan Army bypassed the defences of the Human Race Army and invaded the 3,000 Worlds. It was also since the arm pierced through the boundary wall that the 3,000 Worlds fell into chaos.
At this moment, thick chains wrapped around the arm, binding it tightly. These chains were the joint Secret Technique of the two Ninth-Order Masters, used to restrict the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that resided in the Barren Territory.
In terms of strength, a Black Ink Giant Spirit God was not something that two Ninth-Order Masters could contend with, but during the war that year, this one had been severely injured. Moreover, with one arm stuck between two Great Territories, it was difficult to fully utilise his strength.
While the two Ninth-Order Masters were no match for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in a frontal confrontation, they were able to restrain it and prevent it from escaping, given its weakened state and the restriction on one of its arms; however, as time passed, even this simple restraint became increasingly difficult.
After thousands of years, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s strength had been mostly restored and the two Ninth-Order Masters could clearly feel the difficulty in binding him.
100 years ago, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God nearly broke free during a rebellion, and the Ninth-Order Masters didn’t know how much longer they could hold him down.
Trapped in Wind Mist Territory and isolated from the world, they had no way of knowing the current situation of the 3,000 Worlds or what the status of the Human Race was.
It seemed as though the world had forgotten about them.
The torment of solitude was far worse than the pressure that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had inflicted upon them.
Over the years, Yang Kai visited them twice and informed them about the situation of the Human Race, but after those two times, he never visited them again.
The great war in the Barren Territory took the lives of almost all veteran Ninth-Order Masters, leaving just the two of them alive.
The dead were finally freed, but those who survived had to bear with the aftermath.
The supplies that Yang Kai had given them back then were almost depleted, and now they could only try to minimize the consumption of their own power in order to persist a little longer.
In this extremely quiet environment, both of them just meditated with their eyes closed. In fact, they had spent most of their time this way, only taking action when Black Ink Giant Spirit God attempted to break free.
Suddenly, both of them felt something and opened their eyes, turning their heads to look in a certain direction.
Over there, a figure was strolling towards them with a composed posture, exuding an unmasked magnificent and powerful aura.
A Royal Lord!
Wu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly and said, “A rare guest…”
For so many years of entanglement with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, no one from the Black Ink Clan had dared to approach this area.
This was mainly because there were not many Masters on the Black Ink Clan side; the only Royal Lord had to guard the No-Return Pass all year round, and the Innate Territory Lords did not dare to come here and act recklessly.
So, even though the Black Ink Clan knew that two Ninth-Order Masters were restraining the Black Ink Giant Spirit God here, they never had any intentions of interfering.
However, the situation now was different. The number of powerful Black Ink Clansmen had surged, not only with an additional Royal Lord but also with a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords being created. Moreover, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s injuries had already improved. With things the way they were, the Black Ink Clan naturally had some thoughts about this situation.
“Mo Yu?” Xiao Xiao smiled and looked at the lone Royal Lord who came. She had heard Yang Kai mention that the only Royal Lord of the Black Ink Clan was named Mo Yu, who guarded the No-Return Pass all year round, and who Yang Kai had fought with on several occasions.
Although Yang Kai seemed calm and relaxed when he talked about it, Xiao Xiao knew that the real situation must have been that he was being chased after by the Royal Lord…
Since the one who was strolling over was a Royal Lord, Xiao Xiao naturally thought he was Mo Yu.
The visitor stood still in front of the two Ninth-Order Masters, maintaining a relatively safe distance, and smiled slightly with a hint of surprise, “Senior Xiao Xiao knows my name?”
He easily called out Xiao Xiao’s name, which was not surprising since over the years many Humans had fallen into the hands of the Black Ink Clan, and once transformed into Black Ink Disciples, they could extract some basic information from them.
There were only two Ninth-Order Masters here, a male and a female, making it easy to distinguish them.
Xiao Xiao looked at him coldly and said, “Senior? I dare not accept such a title. We are of different Races and enemies, so how can I be considered your Senior?”
The visitor did not seem to mind and just smiled casually.
Then, Wu Qing quickly asked, “You’re not Mo Yu, are you? Who are you?”
They had never met Mo Yu. Even though they had participated in the Barren Territory War, at that time, Mo Yu was stationed in the No-Return Pass, so they didn’t know what Mo Yu looked like.
Judging from the visitor’s tone though, it was obvious that he was not Mo Yu.
The visitor cupped his fist and loudly said, “Black Ink Clan’s Mo Na Ye greets two esteemed Human Seniors!”
“Mo Na Ye… you are Mo Na Ye?” Xiao Xiao frowned and immediately used her Divine Sense to probe Mo Na Ye without disguise. She seemed to be trying to determine if Mo Na Ye was truly a Royal Lord, but after observing him, it became clear that he was indeed one.
Xiao Xiao was puzzled.
Mo Na Ye also became surprised and asked, “Senior Xiao Xiao has heard of me?”
Only someone familiar with him would show such a surprised reaction.
After asking though, Mo Na Ye looked like he suddenly realised something and said to himself, “Brother Yang must have mentioned me to you two, right?”
He was originally just an Innate Territory Lord, so the Ninth-Order Masters would not pay much attention to him. Yang Kai was the only person who had visited this place over the years, and since these two Ninth-Order Masters knew of his existence, it must have been because of Yang Kai’s mention of him to them.
Mo Na Ye smiled and seemed very pleased, “Brother Yang and I have rarely crossed swords before, but I regard him as my greatest opponent, and it seems he doesn’t underestimate me either. It is my honour.”
He addressed them as ‘Seniors’ and Yang Kai as ‘Brother Yang’, making Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing feel uncomfortable. They hadn’t encountered someone from the Black Ink Clan who was so polite before. If it was not for his Black Ink Clan’s identity, he would seem like a Human who was well-versed in politics and double talk.
As expected, anyone who was mentioned by Yang Kai was not to be trifled with.
They had heard of Mo Na Ye before, but only in passing. On the other hand, Yang Kai mentioned that there was a talented figure in the Black Ink Clan named Mo Na Ye, but they hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time. It wasn’t until Mo Na Ye introduced himself that they suddenly remembered Yang Kai’s evaluation from years ago.
“Wait! You can’t be Mo Na Ye!” Wu Qing suddenly said coldly.
Mo Na Ye raised his eyebrows, “Senior Wu Qing, what do you mean? If I am not Mo Na Ye, who else could I be?”
“As far as I know, Mo Na Ye is an Innate Territory Lord. Although an Innate Territory Lord is much stronger than a normal Territory Lord, they have inherent limitations and can never become Royal Lords. You are a Royal Lord, so how could you be Mo Na Ye?” Wu Qing snorted.
Mo Na Ye chuckled, “Senior Wu Qing makes a good point. Innate Territory Lords do indeed have a hard time reaching the realm of Royal Lord, but there are always exceptions. The Human’s knowledge of the Black Ink Clan is not as comprehensive as you imagine. Besides, the two of you have been isolated here for thousands of years. How much information could you have gathered?”
Those words darkened Wu Qing’s expression. The fact that Innate Territory Lords could not become Royal Lords was common knowledge among the Human Race for many years; however, if this knowledge was incorrect, the situation would be dire since the Black Ink Clan had quite a few Innate Territory Lords.
Mo Na Ye continued with a proud expression, “I don’t need to impersonate anyone. I will always be myself. Of course, my identity is not important. What’s important is why I am here…”
“I see, the Universe Furnace!” Xiao Xiao suddenly interrupted before Mo Na Ye could finish his sentence.
Mo Na Ye choked on his words, and a flash of surprise and shock passed through his eyes. He had not expected Xiao Xiao to be so sharp, instantly seeing through the situation.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao stared into Mo Na Ye’s eyes after uttering the words ‘Universe Furnace.’ Although the hint of surprise in his eyes quickly disappeared, she still caught it.
“So that’s how it is! 300 years ago, there was a commotion in the Barren Territory. Did the Universe Furnace emerge?” Xiao Xiao asked.
Wu Qing also fell into deep thought.
Mo Na Ye smiled as he remained silent while feeling extremely annoyed deep down that the Humans were indeed not easy to deal with. He had originally wanted to use words to attack the two Ninth-Order Masters’ minds, hoping to shake their resolve; however, even the tiniest bit of information he had let leak to confuse them had been seen through and allowed them to grasp the true situation.
“It’s true that the Universe Furnace emerged!” Seeing Mo Na Ye’s reaction, Xiao Xiao knew that her guess was correct.
Although Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had been isolated in Wind Mist Territory, they could sense some of the situations in the Barren Territory due to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s arm tearing a hole in the boundary wall between the two Great Territories. They might not notice small movements, but they could not miss the obvious signs of a massive Black Ink Clan’s army gathering.
At the time, the two of them thought that the Black Ink Clan’s army was preparing to launch an attack on the Humans. Although they were a little suspicious, they didn’t pay much attention as there was nothing they could do about it.
But now, it seemed that things were not as simple as they thought.
Upon careful recollection, there was indeed some abnormal commotion in the Barren Territory before the Black Ink Clan gathered their army.
Through the hole in the boundary wall, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing vaguely perceived some minor commotion, but they didn’t pay much attention to it at the time; however, decades later, a similar commotion came again from the Barren Territory, with traces of powerful Black Ink Clansmen appearing among them.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had never figured out what happened on the other side in the Barren Territory until Mo Na Ye suddenly appeared this time as a Royal Lord. It was then that Xiao Xiao connected the dots.
She stared at Mo Na Ye while explaining to Wu Qing, “In the Universe Furnace, there are Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills that are born from Heaven and Earth. These pills are not only useful to the Human Race though, but also to the Black Ink Clan!”
Wu Qing turned to her with a look of surprise in his eyes.
In terms of age and seniority, Wu Qing was much younger than Xiao Xiao, so there were many things that he did not know despite both of them being Ninth-Order Masters.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao knew about this because she had heard her senior Ninth-Order Masters talking about it previously.
Finally, Wu Qing realised, “So, he was able to become a Royal Lord because he got an opportunity in the Universe Furnace?”
Xiao Xiao nodded, “Otherwise, how could an Innate Territory Lord become a Royal Lord?”
The two seemingly unrelated events, an Innate Territory Lord becoming a Royal Lord and the commotion in the Barren Territory, combined to reveal the truth.
Wu Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the information on the Human side should not be wrong. An Innate Territory Lord could not become a Royal Lord, but if he had an opportunity in the Universe Furnace, things could be explained.
“You’re quite lucky,” Xiao Xiao said while looking at Mo Na Ye with a sarcastic smile, “There should be many Ninth-Order Masters born in the Human Race too, right?”
Over the years, every time the Universe Furnace opened, the Human Race would gain benefits to varying degrees; therefore, after realising that the Universe Furnace had reappeared, Xiao Xiao was certain that there must have been Ninth-Order Masters born among the Human Race.
Upon hearing her words, Mo Na Ye’s smile disappeared, and he replied after a moment of silence, “A total of four Ninth-Order Masters rose inside the Universe Furnace!”
He spoke the truth, though he did not mention that the Human Race already had two Ninth-Order Masters before that, Luo Ting He and Wei Jun Yang.
“Yang Kai should be one of the four!” Xiao Xiao nodded lightly, speaking with a tone of certainty rather than asking a question.
Mo Na Ye’s brow twitched. The fact that the other party trusted Yang Kai so much showed that this Ninth-Order Master also had high hopes for him.
Well, the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment!
After collecting himself, Mo Na Ye laughed lightly, “Brother Yang… is truly a genius of the ages. I have always respected him. In the past, I have had many dealings with him.”
“It looks like you suffered quite a bit,” Xiao Xiao said, her smile widening.
Mo Na Ye ignored her taunting and continued, “Perhaps you don’t know, but Brother Yang ascended to the Ninth-Order not by relying on a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, but by cultivating an extremely marvellous Secret Technique. In the Universe Furnace, my Black Ink Clan had a strong army and was fully prepared, with ambushes and traps set up, waiting for him to fall into the pit. However, Brother Yang, being himself, was able to turn the tide even in such dire circumstances, breaking through on the spot and in very short order. Not only did he ruin my plans, but he also killed one of our new Royal Lords in the process. In that battle, my Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties. After that battle, the Black Ink Clan in the Universe Furnace was powerless to resist, so the survivors had to run and hide, not daring to show their faces. I felt tormented, knowing that my time was running out. Since Senior Xiao Xiao knows some secrets about the Universe Furnace, you should know that if people enter the Universe Furnace from the same entrance, they will return to the same place. And on that day, Brother Yang and I entered the Universe Furnace from the same entrance!”
He described the confrontation in the Universe Furnace from top to bottom, not hesitating to praise and show his admiration for Yang Kai, which made Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing frown while feeling that something was amiss.
Though they heard that Yang Kai had mastered a miraculous Secret Technique, which allowed him to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and had even killed a Royal Lord, there was no great joy in that news.
Sure enough, Mo Na Y’s tone changed, “When the Universe Furnace closed, I was prepared to fight Brother Yang to the death. If I died at his hands, it would not be unjust, but can two Seniors guess what happened later?”
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing remained silent.
Since Mo Na Ye did not die, it meant that Yang Kai had not been able to kill him at that time. There must have been some unexpected event, but there was no need to play along with Mo Na Ye’s intentionally tantalising remark.
After seeing the two Old Ancestors remain silent, Mo Na Ye continued, “When the Universe Furnace closed, I returned, but saw no signs of Brother Yang. I was fortunate enough to survive and restore myself after 100 years of cultivation. Of course, that’s not the point. The point is… there has been no news of Brother Yang till today!”
“On the day the Universe Furnace closed, I found it strange that I did not see Brother Yang. At that time, I did not pay too much attention because my Black Ink Clan did not know much about the Universe Furnace; however, after so many years, it is strange there’s still no signs of Brother Yang!”
Xiao Xiao’s expression darkened, “What are you trying to say?”
Mo Na Ye smiled and stared into Xiao Xiao’s eyes, “Brother Yang is probably trapped somewhere in the Universe Furnace and has no way to escape.”
“So?” Xiao Xiao stared back at him with cold eyes. It did not matter whether Mo Na Ye’s words were true; even if it was, why would it matter?
Mo Na Ye sighed softly, “Nothing, it’s just that someone like Brother Yang being trapped in the Universe Furnace is a pity. This is not something I can talk about on a regular day, but I’ve said more than I should in front of you two. Please forgive me.”
“You’re not just here to talk, are you?” Wu Qing spoke while looking around. Since he began speaking, there had been some movement in the surroundings; powerful auras were faintly visible, and it was clear that the Black Ink Clan was making some preparations.
He immediately understood that the day was here!
The Black Ink Clan was going to help the Black Ink Giant Spirit God escape!
He and Xiao Xiao had always known that this day would come.
“Of course not,” Mo Na Ye’s expression became solemn, “The Human Race will be destroyed, only the Black Ink Clan will be eternal. I don’t have much time, so I only came here for one purpose!”
After a pause, he shouted loudly, “I ask Two Seniors to please die!”
As he spoke, Black Ink Strength surged around him as he charged fiercely towards Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing.
At the same time, more than 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords appeared from all directions, forming Battle Formations and using their own Secret Techniques to surround and attack them.
Not only that, but at the moment the Black Ink Clan began to attack, the towering arm that had remained motionless began to shake violently. Suddenly, the thick chains that locked the arm tightened and showed signs of being broken free.
“In your dreams!” Xiao Xiao shouted out, summoning a massive Yin-Yang Fish under her feet, enveloping all from the Black Ink Clansmen within it.
Wu Qing also summoned a giant halberd and charged towards Mo Na Ye.
In the next instant, the two figures collided, with Wu Qing’s attack becoming more and more ferocious, causing Mo Na Ye to be instantly knocked back.
In terms of raw strength, Wu Qing was far above Mo Na Ye; after all, he had ascended to the Ninth Order thousands of years ago and had not stopped improving his heritage during these years whereas Mo Na Ye had only recently broken through. He was naturally not Wu Qing’s opponent.
Mo Na Ye had already known this was the case but was not worried at all because his main goal was to help the Black Ink Giant Spirit God break free as well as to use the opportunity to surround and kill these two Ninth-Order Masters. For this reason, he brought the Grand Formation that was usually used to deal with Yang Kai. His previous chat with Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing was just to delay time to set up the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array.
The entire section of the void had been completely isolated, leaving the two Ninth-Order Masters no chance of escape. In the end, they would be killed by him and the many Pseudo-Royal Lords working together!
After this battle, the Human Race would no longer be able to fight back. An unrestrained Black Ink Giant Spirit God would eventually lead the Black Ink Clan to eradicate the Human Race!
After repelling Mo Na Ye, Wu Qing did not chase after him but immediately retreated to Xiao Xiao’s side to join forces and fight the dozen or so Pseudo-Royal Lords.
To ensure that they could kill these two Ninth-Order Masters, Mo Na Ye not only came in person but also brought some 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords, 10 of whom were being used to maintain the Grand Formation on the periphery.
However, with a Royal Lord plus more than 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords, they were already more than enough to defeat the two Ninth-Order Masters without any external help.
The huge Yin-Yang Fish pattern continued to rotate, with Yin and Yang intermingling and reversing within it. Dao Strength pervaded while Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing each stood on one side of the Yin-Yang Fish, making it difficult for the Pseudo-Royal Lords trapped inside to break through the protection even with their Battle Formation.
Mo Na Ye rushed over and warned through clenched teeth, “I told you, your time is up. Stop being so stubborn, Seniors!”
It was a big risk leading so many Pseudo-Royal Lords here. Removing so many top Masters from the front lines could not be hidden, so there was a chance the four other Ninth-Order Masters would join forces again and attack the No-Return Pass once the Black Ink Clan’s intentions were revealed. If that happened, with the forces available, Mo Yu and the other defenders wouldn’t be able to fight back.
Therefore, before executing this plan, Mo Na Ye commanded the armies of the Black Ink Clan to launch a massive attack against the Humans to serve as a distraction to tie down Xiang Shan and the others.
At the moment, Xiang Shan and the others could not spare much attention to other matters, so the risks were minimized; otherwise, Mo Na Ye wouldn’t have made such a bold move.
But once this matter succeeded, the benefits would be significant. Not only would it allow the Black Ink Giant Spirit God to break free, but it would also eliminate two Ninth-Order Masters, completely turning the tables for the Black Ink Clan.
Divine Sense surged and under the transmission of orders, six Pseudo-Royal Lords formed two Three Fortunes Formation and attacked.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing grew increasingly pressured!
They had never fought against Pseudo-Royal Lords, only hearing about them from Yang Kai previously. But at that time, there were only one or two Pseudo-Royal Lords among the Black Ink Clan, so the sudden appearance of 20 of them was truly surprising.
Each of these Pseudo-Royal Lords were comparable to a Royal Lord in terms of aura, but they were unable to fully control their full strength. However, facing so many enemies with such a small number of their own, the two Masters would not be able to hold on for too long.
What was even more frustrating was that though they still used a large part of their strength to reinforce the chains, the restraints that had bound the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s arm for thousands of years were rapidly breaking!
In Wind Mist Territory, Mo Na Ye led the many well-prepared Pseudo-Royal Lords while the Black Ink Giant Spirit God made its move. Despite Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing’s efforts, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed. Though they were not yet in dire straits, they could no longer restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in such a situation.
Once the Black Ink Giant Spirit God broke free, the two Ninth-Order Masters who had held out for thousands of years would have their efforts undone, and the other Human Race Masters would have no chance against such a being.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God played a vital role in the Black Ink Clan’s invasion of the 3,000 Worlds previously; had it not been awakened from the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land and charged into the Barren Territory, forcibly opening a passage connecting to the Wind Mist Territory, the Human Race Armies would have had the ability to hold off the Black Ink Clan in the Barren Territory.
However, the breach nullified all of the Humans’ efforts, leading to a grand final battle where many Ninth-Order Masters sacrificed themselves to preserve hope for the future. This was followed by the mass migration of people in the 3,000 Worlds.
It could be said that the existence of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God established the current state of affairs, with the Black Ink Clan occupying the 3,000 Worlds and Human Race defending only a dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields.
If the Black Ink Giant Spirit God were to break free now, it would bring disastrous consequences to the Human Race.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had been stationed in Wind Mist Territory precisely to prevent such a thing from happening. Previously, the Black Ink Clan did not come to bother them because they could not do so as there weren’t a lot of top Masters on the Black Ink Clan’s side either. In addition, under the premise that the only Royal Lord was unable to come forward, Innate Territory Lords were unable to cause any commotion against two veteran Ninth-Order Masters.
Besides, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was heavily injured in that great battle thousands of years ago and needed time to restore itself.
Now that the Black Ink Clan had Masters emerging one after another, and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s injuries had been mostly restored, the time had finally come!
World Force surged and Black Ink Strength roiled as they clashed, causing the void to shatter.
Along with that, some chains that bound the gigantic arm had also broken.
The huge Yin-Yang Fish rotated continuously, and Dao Strength permeated. While struggling to withstand the joint attack of the many Pseudo-Royal Lords, the two Ninth-Order Masters attempted to continue restraining the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
However, their strength was limited. How could they hold on in such a situation?
Wu Qing roared, and Xiao Xiao yelled. The two had an overwhelming presence, and they would never compromise even when facing adversity, just like the many Human Old Ancestors who had sacrificed themselves for the greater good in the Barren Territory years ago.
Mo Na Ye only laughed, “The situation is as such, why bother struggling? I have always admired the strength of the Human Race, but my arrival today is just to give you both a dignified death!”
Meanwhile, in the Barren Territory, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God roared in anger, “You think you can restrain this Supreme One? Break!”
As the roar echoed, the arm of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God suddenly expanded, unleashing a violent surge of power. The chains that had been struggling to hold on could no longer bear the immense pressure and shattered into twinkling fragments of light, scattering in all directions.
With the Secret Technique broken, Wu Qing and Xiao Xiao both grunted, clearly suffering from some backlash.
On the other hand, Mo Na Ye stood outside the battle ring, enjoying the despair in the eyes of these two Ninth-Order Masters.
For years, the Black Ink Clan had not gained many advantages in their battles against the Human Race, but after this victory, those Humans who continued to resist would finally understand who the true masters of the Universe were!
*Hong long long…*
With a resounding boom, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God finally broke free after being restrained for thousands of years.
To the Human Race, this was surely a great calamity.
The despair in the eyes of Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing grew even more intense as Mo Na Ye coldly said, “Don’t even think about escaping. This space has already been sealed off, and with your strength alone, you won’t be able to get away.”
He had even brought the Grand Array that could be used to deal with Yang Kai, fearing that these two Ninth-Order Masters would try to escape.
It was difficult to find an opportunity to ambush two Ninth-Order Masters at once, and if they managed to escape, it would be a huge problem for the Black Ink Clan.
After Mo Na Ye finished speaking, Wu Qing charged at him with his halberd, intending to execute the leader of the enemies to intimidate his troops. However, as soon as he moved, he was stopped by a Three Fortunes Formations and became trapped in a bitter battle, unable to escape.
Seeing this, Mo Na Ye smirked in mockery.
[The trap has already been sprung, now it is up to you both to decide what to do next!] He thought to himself, hoping that they wouldn’t disappoint him.
At that moment, Xiao Xiao suddenly shouted, “Let’s go!”
The Yin-Yang Fish suddenly became turbulent and many Pseudo-Royal Lords were violently pushed back by the overwhelming force. Xiao Xiao then charged straight up, followed closely behind by Wu Qing with his halberd.
The direction they were heading was the same as the spot where the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had retreated, a crack leading to the Barren Territory!
“Hah!” Mo Na Ye couldn’t help but snort, his expression showing no surprise as if he had expected this all along.
In fact, he had already anticipated how the two Ninth-Order Masters would respond to the situation.
This strength of void was completely sealed off, and with so many Pseudo-Royal Lords surrounding them and Mo Na Ye himself presiding over the situation, the two Ninth-Order Masters simply did not have the strength to fight back. Continuing to engage in battle would only result in their inevitable defeat and demise.
However, Mo Na Ye was not willing to take on too much risk or suffer heavy losses. He was confident that he could kill the two Ninth-Order Masters here, but he didn’t know how much it would cost him. If the two of them abandoned all hope of survival and fought to achieve mutual destruction, the Pseudo-Royal Lords would surely suffer heavy casualties. Even he might not escape intact.
With such concerns in mind, he couldn’t force them too hard or else it would be too risky.
As someone who had been in charge of the Black Ink Clan’s military affairs for so many years, Mo Na Ye knew that sometimes giving the enemy hope was the best way to corner them and reduce one’s own losses.
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had been freed, and the arm that had been chained for thousands of years had been retrieved, the opening in the boundary wall connecting the Barren Territory and Wind Mist Territory had long stabilized and did not disappear.
In this dire situation, the two Ninth-Order Masters only had one way out, to charge into the Barren Territory!
[Everything is going according to plan…]
In the Barren Territory, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had been fully freed. If the two Human Masters rashly charged in, there would surely be no good outcome. By that time, Mo Na Ye would lead his Pseudo-Royal Lords to pincer them with the assistance of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God; a way simpler way to take them down rather than fighting to their death here in the Wind Mist Territory.
The two Ninth-Order Masters knew what they were about to face, but under the current circumstances, they did not have another choice.
Staying here meant certain death as they would be worn down and killed sooner or later. So, charging into the Barren Territory was their only chance to snatch life from the gates of death.
The arm of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had already been retrieved, and Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had also charged into the passage and disappeared. The many Pseudo-Royal Lords followed closely behind, ready to charge in, but were suddenly stopped by Mo Na Ye, “Wait!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lords immediately paused their movements.
Mo Na Ye remained calm, silently waiting and feeling the intense fluctuations of battle coming from the other end of the passage that was occasionally mixed with the muffled groans of Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing. It was clear that they had suffered losses at the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s hands.
Mo Na Ye sneered in his heart, [So what if you’re a Ninth-Order Master? You’re nothing in the face of our Black Ink Giant Spirit God.]
Previously when the Black Ink Giant Spirit God appeared on the battlefield, the Human Race had needed to mobilize at least 10 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to simply contain it.
But currently, with only the two of them, how could Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing be opponents of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God?
“Charge!” Mo Na Ye commanded his subordinates soon after. The reason the Pseudo-Royal Lords and the others had to wait was to prevent the two Ninth-Order Masters from ambushing them on the other side of the passage. If they did, it would be a surprise attack that could deal them serious damage.
Now that they had confirmed that the two had fully charged into the Barren Territory, they didn’t need to wait any longer. Besides, Mo Na Ye was also worried that if they followed too late, the two Humans might have a chance to escape. Although the Barren Territory had some defences in place, there were not enough Masters to provide comprehensive coverage. Furthermore, though the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was powerful, it might not be able to stop the two Ninth-Order Masters if they were determined to escape.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords rushed into the passageway, with Mo Na Ye following behind. Soon after, the many Black Ink Clansmen entered the Barren Territory.
Looking up, Mo Na Ye saw the imposing Black Ink Giant Spirit God standing in place as its two massive hands reached out to grab at the two Ninth-Order Masters who were frantically flying around, trying to avoid its grasp.
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God occasionally threw a punch that didn’t land, the shockwaves alone were enough to shatter the void and send the Ninth-Order Masters tumbling.
Watching this scene quietly, Mo Na Ye ordered, “Set up the Array and kill them both!”
The two Ninth-Order Masters were at a dead end. With the Black Ink Giant Spirit God here, along with a Royal Lord and many Pseudo-Royal Lords working together, there was no way they could survive.
It was time to reap the rewards of their victory.
Suddenly, Mo Na Ye felt a bit disheartened, [If the one we were targeting was Yang Kai, what would he do to break out of this situation?]
He couldn’t think of any effective methods to break through such a defence, except to avoid entering the Barren Territory altogether and to simply fight in the Wind Mist Territory until one side gave in, but that would likely result in losses for his side.
It was a shame that the killing star was now certainly trapped in the Universe Furnace. He might have already perished inside, or he might have to wait until the next time the Universe Furnace opened to escape; however, who knew how many years it would take for the next opening? By then, the entire Universe would belong to the Black Ink Clan.
As Mo Na Ye was lost in thought, his expression suddenly changed as he looked towards Xiao Xiao, who was flying about frantically.
Xiao Xiao had suddenly looked towards him too, and when they locked eyes, Xiao Xiao shouted, “Mo Na Ye, Yang Kai left something for the Black Ink Clan as a gift, please accept it!”
With that, she tossed a round bead towards him. There was no fluctuation of power, and it didn’t seem to be an artifact; in fact, it looked like a simple pebble that could be found anywhere in any Universe World.
But when Xiao Xiao threw out that bead, Mo Na Ye felt a sense of imminent crisis and a chill shot up his spine from the tips of his toes to the top of his head.
The assault of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was simple yet violent, making it difficult for even two Ninth-Order Masters to contend with. It was as the saying went, ‘One great force surpasses 10 Masters.’
Amidst the chaos, Xiao Xiao threw an object towards the Pseudo-Royal Lords and Royal Lord.
In that instant, Mo Na Ye felt a sense of danger as he heard the name ‘Yang Kai’ ringing in his ears.
Over the years, he had engaged in many battles with Yang Kai but never gained an advantage. In fact, even when he had the upper hand in their last two encounters and was on the verge of killing him, Yang Kai always managed to turn the tables on him.
In the previous encounter, the Black Ink Clan lost many Innate Territory Lords to Yang Kai, and in their last battle, a true Royal Lord and several Pseudo-Royal Lords had fallen at his hands!
It could be said that Yang Kai had long since become Mo Na Ye’s heart demon.
When Mo Na Ye learned that Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace and had no chance of escaping, he felt pity but also joy as he would no longer have to face that killing star; however, he never expected to face a hidden hand left behind by Yang Kai at this critical moment. He didn’t know what the bead thrown by Xiao Xiao was, but anything related to Yang Kai couldn’t be taken lightly.
The little round bead thrown by Xiao Xiao came at an extremely high speed, almost hitting them before Xiao Xiao finished speaking, but was immediately punched furiously by a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
“Don’t!” Mo Na Ye roared, but it was too late.
Under the violent impact, the bead momentarily froze before quickly breaking through the force impacting it and came flying towards them again.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord who had attacked felt something unusual about the bead the moment his Black Ink Strength made contact. Though others might not have been able to perceive its mystery, he could feel that Xiao Xiao’s bead was unexpectedly heavy, and when combined with the mysterious power from a Ninth-Order Master, he was unable to block it with his punch.
The next instant, the round bead closed in, and although the Pseudo-Royal Lord heard Mo Na Ye, he was too focused on the sense of danger that suddenly and inexplicably overwhelmed him. He did not care anymore, so he punched out again with all his strength.
With a loud bang, the void shook and the Pseudo-Royal Lord grunted as he was sent flying.
At the same time, the bead finally shattered. It was not some sturdy artifact, so it couldn’t withstand the full force of a Pseudo-Royal Lord’s attack.
At the moment when the bead shattered, Space Principles surged wildly. From the remnants of the shattered bead, large Universe Fragments appeared and shot in all directions, causing chaos among the Black Ink Clan.
“An entire Universe World!?” Mo Na Ye exclaimed in a low voice, his eyes full of shock.
Only now did he realise that the bead was not some simple stone, but rather a Universe World refined into an unremarkable appearance through some profound means.
Combined with Xiao Xiao’s words earlier, Mo Na Ye immediately thought of Yang Kai. In this world, who else could achieve such a fantastic feat but Yang Kai?
Moreover, many years ago, he had heard rumours that a Human had refined and saved many Universe Worlds before the Black Ink Clan’s Army arrived. Many of the Universe Worlds, which had been lingering in the void for countless years, had disappeared abruptly.
Some Black Ink Disciples also revealed related information that Yang Kai had the means to refine Universe Worlds into tiny beads, apparently called Sealed World Beads or World Beads.
Putting all the pieces of information together, Mo Na Ye immediately understood that this was a World Bead that Yang Kai had refined.
Although the Pseudo-Royal Lord was powerful and could easily shatter a World Bead with his strength, he had suffered some injuries, mainly because he had not expected such a small thing to have such tremendous weight behind it.
But what could a trivial World Bead do to the Black Ink Clan? Was this the ‘gift’ that Yang Kai had left? If so, that was too disappointing.
Mo Na Ye remained tense because he knew that things could not be that simple. While resisting the impact of those shattered Universe Fragments, he calmly observed his surroundings.
The next moment, Mo Na Ye caught a glimpse of something horrifying, causing his expression to change dramatically.
In his field of vision, a huge Universe Fragment that covered the sky suddenly exuded an extremely terrifying aura. As the aura emerged, a figure slowly rose up in the void. The figure was majestic and towering, with a bald head that shone like the Sun; despite its ferocious appearance, there was a strange simplicity in its expression.
It seemed to have just woken up from a deep sleep, and its bleary eyes were still mixed with a hint of confusion and sleepiness. It also had a somewhat displeased expression, just like anyone who was forcibly awakened from their sleep would feel.
Mo Na Ye’s soul trembled as he exclaimed, “A Giant Spirit God!”
[How could there be a Giant Spirit God? How could there be a Giant Spirit God inside!?]
He immediately realised that a Giant Spirit God had been sealed within Xiao Xiao’s World Bead, and he finally understood that the World Bead was not the gift from Yang Kai to the Black Ink Clan, but rather this Giant Spirit God was!
Although the Giant Spirit God seemed to have just awakened from a deep sleep, no one dared to underestimate its power.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were created based on this unique race. Mo had to split parts of his Soul to create them. Thus, each Black Ink Giant Spirit God could be seen as a Soul Clone of Mo.
In the whole Universe, there was no Race more powerful than the Giant Spirit God Clan and only Supreme Masters like Mo could surpass them.
The Black Ink Clan had always considered the restrained Black Ink Giant Spirit God their strongest hidden hand. They had ignored it for many years not because they had forgotten about it, but because they were waiting for the right opportunity to release it.
Now that the opportunity had come, Mo Na Ye led many Pseudo-Royal Lords to besiege the two Ninth-Order Masters in Wind Mist Territory, taking the chance to help the Black Ink Giant Spirit God break free. After they succeeded, the Black Ink Clan would have the power and strength to eradicate the Human Race.
This Black Ink Giant Spirit God was their greatest trump card, and the Human Race would ultimately find it impossible to contend with.
But never had they imagined that Yang Kai had a way to deal with the Black Ink Clan’s long-preserved hidden hand.
Worse, he clearly discovered this card long ago!
Mo Na Ye did not know when Yang Kai had given the World Bead to Xiao Xiao, but it was definitely not recently. Perhaps 1,000 years ago, or maybe 2,000 years ago, or even earlier!
[Did Yang Kai predict this day even back then?]
Mo Na Ye quickly dismissed this idea. Although Yang Kai was powerful and agile, it was impossible for him to know everything beforehand. He must have given the World Bead containing the sealed Giant Spirit God to Xiao Xiao just to guard against the day the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would escape.
He knew the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would surely break free one day, and in this Universe, only a true Giant Spirit God could stand against it!
Though there was clearly some forethought put into this, the events of today were more coincidence than careful planning.
Realising this, Mo Na Ye was filled with bitterness. He thought that Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace and he would never have to deal with this powerful enemy again, but who would have thought that he had still fallen into Yang Kai’s trap even though Yang Kai was not even here anymore?
This killing star was indeed his lifelong enemy!
With his thoughts in chaos, Mo Na Ye heard Xiao Xiao’s explosive shout, “Ah Da, kill the enemy!”
She had learned the name of the Giant Spirit God from Yang Kai himself. In the world today, there were only two known Giant Spirit Gods left, Ah Da and Ah Er. Their names were simple and they were easy to tell apart. Ah Da was bald, while Ah Er had a tuft of baby hair on his head.
Back when the Black Ink Clan Army breached the No-Return Pass, the Human Race was promptly assisted by Ah Er, who was wandering around the 3,000 Worlds. Somehow, Ah Er seemed to know what was happening and stormed into the Barren Territory to face off against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. After the Human Army suffered a crushing defeat, they withdrew, but Ah Er stayed behind.
For thousands of years, he had been locked in battle with another Black Ink Giant Spirit God, a battle so intense that it literally shattered space wherever they went.
Today, the Barren Territory was home to the Giant Spirit God and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
In truth, the Human Race wanted to locate Ah Da earlier, but unfortunately, they had never been able to determine his whereabouts and the matter was eventually left unresolved.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai went out searching for traces of the First Primordial Light that he found Ah Da, sleeping in one of the dead Universe Worlds.
Ah Da must have been eating well as he was sleeping so soundly that he was totally unaware of what was going on in the outside world.
That time, Yang Kai had traversed almost the entire 3,000 worlds, personally investigating each Universe World. However, instead of immediately awakening Ah Da after finding him, he first refined the entire Universe World to leave as a hidden hand. Then, when he went to visit Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, he quietly handed the World Bead over to Xiao Xiao to keep until the day they needed Ah Da’s power to counter the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
As Mo Na Ye predicted, Yang Kai knew that the day would come when the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would break free, and the Black Ink Clan undoubtedly used it as a trump card. When that day came, Xiao Xiao could summon the World Bead and awaken Ah Da.
No matter what the Black Ink Clan was planning, Ah Da’s appearance would surely catch them off guard.
It was just that Yang Kai would never expect that the sleepy Ah Da would react slowly even after being forcibly awakened.
Though, to be fair, this guy had always been a simpleton…
It was only after Xiao Xiao shouted that Ah Da gradually focused his sleepy eyes, rubbed his bald head, turned his neck slowly, and looked around.
Upon seeing the black figures around him, his already unpleasant mood became much worse.
“Black Ink Clan!” Ah Da exclaimed, his voice like thunder, shaking the void all around him. With an irritated look, he shouted, “Little friend told Ah Da to kill all from the Black Ink Clan!”
The ‘little friend’ he was referring to was undoubtedly Yang Kai. While he was sleeping in the World Bead, he repeatedly heard Yang Kai’s voice echoing in his ears, telling him to kill all from the Black Ink Clan after he woke up.
Despite being annoyed, Ah Da remembered those words.
After waking up from his thousands of years of sleep, Ah Da finally saw them and began slowly striding towards the largest cluster of Black Ink Clansmen.
[Little friend said to kill, so Ah should kill!]
Even if Yang Kai had not encouraged Ah Da, there was already an irreconcilable enmity between the Giant Spirit God Clan and the Black Ink Clan, so Ah Da would have killed them regardless!
The Giant Spirit God Clan had very few clansmen, but each one was incredibly powerful. They were practically the strongest beings in the Universe, with even the Divine Spirits like the Dragons and Phoenixes not being their match.
Fortunately, the Giant Spirit God Clan had a gentle, almost child-like nature and never actively sought out trouble. Otherwise, if they were as destructive as the Black Ink Clan, the 3,000 Worlds would have been destroyed by them long ago.
This Race fed on dead Universe Worlds and had the unique ability to sense the location of dying Universe Worlds from afar.
Yang Kai and Ah Da first met during the Star Boundary’s crisis.
During the great battle with Great Demon God Mo Sheng, the Star Boundary was brought to the brink of collapse. Ah Da arrived and slept outside the Star Boundary, waiting for an opportunity to eat it. It was from Ah Da that Yang Kai learned how to save the Star Boundary. Later, Yang Kai broke free from the shackles of the Star Boundary and went to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the 3,000 Worlds to obtain a root of the World Tree, which he then planted in the Star Boundary to bring it back to life.
Ah Da then disappeared without a trace, but it was thanks to his guidance that the Star Boundary was saved. Without Ah Da telling him to search for the World Tree, Yang Kai would not have been able to save the dying Star Boundary.
Years later, Yang Kai discovered traces of a Giant Spirit God in the void, thinking it was Ah Da, but it turned out to be another Giant Spirit God named Ah Er. Under Ah Er’s guidance, he entered the Chaotic Dead Territory and met Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan…
Because Giant Spirit Gods fed on dead Universe Worlds, they had an irreconcilable enmity with the Black Ink Clan since ancient times. If the dead Universe Worlds were like pieces of meat for the Giant Spirit Gods, then the Universe Worlds corrupted by Black Ink Strength were like disgusting rotten flesh. The Giant Spirit Gods would never feed on such filth.
The existence of the Black Ink Clan was naturally in opposition to the Giant Spirit Gods. It was because of this that Ah Er rushed over to assist the Humans in the Barren Territory to fight against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Otherwise, with the Giant Spirit God’s gentle character, how would they easily start a fight with another creature?
In the Late Ancient Era, during the great war between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race, the Giant Spirit Gods were also active. Both Ah Da and Ah Er had even participated in the war against the Black Ink Clan back then.
At that time, there were more than these two Giant Spirit Gods, but after the endless fighting that lasted for countless years, the already small number of Giant Spirit God Clan members was reduced to two.
Many years later, Ah Da woke up from his slumber and saw the only Race that the Giant Spirit God deeply hated, which caused his terrifying aura to sweep across half the Barren Territory. He took big steps forward, and although his movements were clumsy, he was extremely fast. He reached out his gigantic hand and grabbed at the gathering place of the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The hand was so big that it seemed to cover the entire sky, and the Pseudo-Royal Lords were all shocked as they quickly tried to flee in all directions. However, there was an extremely mysterious force surging in the area covered by the giant hand that stirred the void, leaving many Pseudo-Royal Lords staggering despite Ah Da missing the target.
Without giving them a moment to catch their breath, another gigantic hand slapped down. The next moment, a miserable cry resounded as a Pseudo-Royal Lord who could not dodge in time was instantly smashed into paste, exploding into a blood mist from which thick Black Ink Strength dissipated.
The survivors were terrified at the sight as even a true Royal Lord like Mo Na Ye had to flee desperately under the wild attacks of the Giant Spirit God. Such power was simply impossible for any Royal Lord to resist, and he finally understood the pressure that the two Ninth-Order Masters faced when confronting the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
“Ahh!” Ah Da shouted as he slapped his hands down one after another, causing chaos throughout the entire Barren Territory.
Many Pseudo-Royal Lords were unable to avoid being hit either directly or by the shockwaves of these attacks. As strong as the Pseudo-Royal Lords were, they could not withstand the might of a Giant Spirit God. Within moments, three Pseudo-Royal Lords died, and several more were injured to the extent that they were coughing up blood non-stop.
Mo Na Ye was also grazed by the giant palm and his vitality fluctuated wildly as his heart filled with fear. Even in this situation though, he continued to give orders, commanding the rest to form Battle Formations and kill the enemy.
However, even after the Pseudo-Royal Lords formed Battle Formations, they were no match for the Giant Spirit God. Often, before they had a chance to fight back, the Battle Formation was broken and they were left dazed from the crude yet overwhelming power used against them.
Mo Na Ye felt a chill all over his body as he commanded the battle as he cursed Yang Kai in his heart, [How malicious can he be to have this hidden hand and not show it after all this time!]
Over the years, nothing related to Yang Kai was ever a good thing.
Mo Na Ye couldn’t help but think back to the great battle between the Ninth-Order Masters and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. The Ninth-Order Masters were not necessarily stronger than the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, but with the cooperation of a dozen of them, they were still somewhat able to hold it back. Just how much courage and determination did that take?
At this moment, if there were more Royal Lords cooperating with him, Mo Na Ye would have had the confidence to contain this Giant Spirit God, but there were only two. Besides, Mo Yu was currently stationed at the No-Return Pass, unable to come to the rescue, so what could Mo Na Ye accomplish alone? Although there were enough Pseudo-Royal Lords, they were ultimately not true Royal Lords so Mo Na Ye did not expect much from them.
Originally, victory seemed certain for the Black Ink Clan after forcing Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing into the Barren Territory; however, they had turned the tables by using their previously displayed despair to trick their opponents into letting their guard down.
The situation became awkward as the Black Ink Giant Spirit God struggled to quickly kill the two Ninth-Order Masters, while Pseudo-Royal Lords were being decimated. If this continued, their situation would only become worse and there would be more casualties.
Mo Na Ye had no choice but to shout loudly, “Supreme One!”
He could only beg the Black Ink Giant Spirit God for assistance. However, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God ignored him even after hearing this cry, treating the two Ninth-Order Masters like annoying insects buzzing around him. It frustrated the Black Ink Giant Spirit God who sought to crush them.
In truth, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were in a precarious state. Though the Pseudo-Royal Lords were struggling to withstand the aftermath of the Giant Spirit God’s attacks, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing also couldn’t hold out for long despite being stronger.
However, the two of them had no intention of fleeing. They gritted their teeth and continued to fight back against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, provoking its anger and preventing it from helping the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
After a while, another Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura was extinguished. He had failed to avoid a fierce attack from Ah Da and was instantly obliterated. As a result, four Pseudo-Royal Lords from the Black Ink Clan had fallen, while all the others were now heavily injured.
Both the Giant Spirit God and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God were enormous and seemingly clumsy in their movements, but every single blow they unleashed contained tremendous power that could destroy the Heavens and Earth. It was impossible to completely avoid such attacks.
Perhaps after killing some enemies, Ah Da’s sleep-addled head became clearer. At a certain moment, after sweeping his palm around, he stopped in his tracks and stared in one direction, “Big guy!”
He finally saw the Black Ink Giant Spirit God!
Enraged, his eyes immediately erupted with boundless fury towards that entity that looked almost identical in appearance and size but was completely different in nature. He seemed to have a great deal of hatred towards this being.
In an instant, he abandoned the numerous Pseudo-Royal Lords and Mo Na Ye, instead taking large strides towards the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
The many Pseudo-Royal Lords, who had been teetering on the edge of life and death, breathed a collective sigh of relief…
In that direction, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God naturally sensed the approaching foe and with a broad wave of his arm sent Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing flying before quickly turning around and striding towards Ah Da.
The two colossal creatures charged each other, their identical size and aura making them seem like a mirror reflection in the void, except that one of them was surrounded by Black Ink Strength.
This was a battle between the most powerful beings in the Universe, one in which no one could interfere.
On the other side, many Pseudo-Royal Lords wore expressions of relief, glad to have survived that encounter.
Fortunately, the Giant Spirit God discovered the Black Ink Clan Giant Spirit God’s presence; otherwise, none of them knew how many more of them would have died.
Mo Na Ye felt extremely bitter. In the end, it wasn’t their own strongest Master who saved them, but the enemy who drew the Supreme One’s attention.
In the blink of an eye, the two colossal creatures closed in on each other, seeming to have a telepathic connection as they both threw punches at the same time.
When their fists collided, space shattered.
The silent collision created visible shockwaves that spread out in all directions from the point of impact.
The fallout was so intense and far-reaching that they swept up the injured Pseudo-Royal Lords, causing them to tumble and flip over. Even Mo Na Ye had a hard time standing his ground.
This was not the first time this level of battle was fought in the Barren Territory.
Back then, Ah Er and another Black Ink Giant Spirit God fought for nearly 1,000 years, with each clash being incredibly terrifying, causing chaos all around them.
It wasn’t until they grappled each other’s limbs, making it impossible for either to move easily, that the 1,000-year-long battle reached a stalemate.
Even now, these two Giant Spirit Gods were entangled with each other somewhere in the Barren Territory’s void, and no one knew how long this fight would last.
After another violent collision, Mo Na Ye felt like he could barely stand still as he was too close to the battlefield of these two Supreme Masters, so the aftermath he suffered was naturally more intense.
Suddenly thinking of something, he became alert and muttered, “Where are Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing?”
Before this, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were entangled with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, but now that the Giant Spirit God had his eyes on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were nowhere to be found…
“Watch out for sneak attacks!” Mo Na Ye hastily shouted, but just as he finished his sentence, a desperate scream came from nearby. He turned his head to see a fleeting figure; it was a Pseudo-Royal Lord falling into a rapidly rotating Yin-Yang Fish, unable to escape as the Yin-Yang Power ground him up.
In just a short moment, the Pseudo-Royal Lord trapped in the Yin-Yang Fish lost all vitality and died on the spot.
As the attention of the Black Ink Clan’s many Masters was drawn over, Wu Qing’s figure appeared like a ghost on the other side of the battlefield. With World Force surging, he aimed his halberd at a chosen target.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord he selected had an unstable aura and was clearly injured. Having barely escaped from the attack of the Giant Spirit God, this Pseudo-Royal Lord didn’t even sense this silent ambush.
It wasn’t until the danger was upon him that he noticed, but it was already too late.
Unable to mount a proper defence, he presented an opportunity that Wu Qing seized, and with a single strike, the halberd split him in half.
Black blood gushed out, and Black Ink Strength dissipated.
The two Ninth-Order Masters who just escaped were like tigers in a flock of sheep, seeking out targets to slaughter. The powers of Yin and Yang surged, and the long halberd swept out endless sharp edges.
Mo Na Ye was furious as he had brought a considerable number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, but he had already lost six, with four killed by the Giant Spirit God earlier while two more were brought down by Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing in such a short time.
These Pseudo-Royal Lords were the backbone of the Black Ink Clan’s forces against the Humans, and though they had not suffered significant losses on the real battlefield, significant casualties had been taken here, causing Mo Na Ye great distress.
This operation was supposed to be foolproof. If they had succeeded, not only would they have killed two Ninth-Order Masters, but they would also have assisted the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in breaking free from its bindings, killing two birds with one stone.
Unfortunately, this seemingly perfect plan had been blown apart after Yang Kai’s hidden hand was revealed.
Mo Na Ye roared in anger and charged towards Wu Qing.
After the initial panic, the Pseudo-Royal Lords hastily formed Battle Formations against the two Ninth-Order Masters and barely managed to hold their ground.
Upon noticing Mo Na Ye’s movements, Wu Qing immediately flew towards Xiao Xiao’s position, ignoring Mo Na Ye’s attack from behind. With a fierce blow, he pierced through another Pseudo-Royal Lord who was suppressed by Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao understood Wu Qing’s intention and fully cooperated. Grand Dao Strength surged, suppressing the Pseudo-Royal Lord and rendering him immobile.
With two Ninth-Order Masters joining forces, the lone Pseudo-Royal Lord was no match at all. In a state of extreme shock, he could only watch as Wu Qing pierced him with a single strike.
At the same time, Wu Qing’s figure shook as he spurted fresh blood. It was a result of Mo Na Ye’s attack.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords, who had just regained their footing, gathered together in their Battle Formations from all directions while Mo Na Ye also charged over with haste.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao grabbed Wu Qing’s shoulder as the Yin-Yang Fish rolled back, wrapping around them while they withstood the relentless attacks of their enemies as they carved a bloody path out.
Powerful Secret Techniques bombarded them, but they were all dissolved by the Yin-Yang Fish. The shield Xiao Xiao was manipulating trembled, costing her a great deal of energy to maintain.
After a moment, the chaotic battle suddenly calmed down as the two sides stood across from each other in the void, facing off from afar. In the eerie and quiet stalemate, only the fierce residual waves of the two Giant Spirit Gods battling each other in the distance could be felt.
Xiao Xiao’s chest heaved, and Wu Qing’s face was pale with a hint of fresh blood at the corner of his mouth. On the opposite side, Mo Na Ye and the Pseudo-Royal Lords looked at them coldly with eyes full of resentment and anger.
However, even with all the rage they felt, it was useless in this situation.
Their plan had completely failed!
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had managed to escape, the Humans gained another Giant Spirit God to assist them. These two were now mutually restraining each other, making the Black Ink Clan’s plan to use the Black Ink Giant Spirit God to sweep away the Human Race completely useless.
In addition, the two Ninth-Order Masters were also not dead and could escape at any time because their location was right at the entrance to the Wind Mist Territory passage.
In the end, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was still contained, while the two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were now free!
Mo Na Ye clenched his fists tightly as his heart bled.
Originally, in terms of Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Masters, the Black Ink Clan was inferior to the Human Race. The Black Ink Clan only had two Royal Lords left, while the Humans had four available in the 3,000 Worlds.
The advantage that the Black Ink Clan could occupy was mainly due to the many Pseudo-Royal Lords on their side.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had been trapped in Wind Mist Territory for so many years, so though they could restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, they were of no use on the battlefield.
But now, they were freed…
On the main battlefield, there would be two more Human Armies led by veteran Ninth-Order Masters. This was a disaster for the Black Ink Clan.
And the reason for this outcome was a hidden hand left behind by Yang Kai millennia ago!
Mo Na Ye could not understand why Yang Kai had kept such a hidden hand until now instead of using it earlier.
Regardless, the Black Ink Clan had lost this battle. They thought that Yang Kai, who was trapped in the Universe Furnace, would no longer cause them any trouble, and that they could completely rid themselves of this heart demon. But who would have thought that they were still shrouded in his shadow…
“Mo Na Ye,” before reaching the entrance to the passage, Xiao Xiao smiled coldly and said, “When I see you on the battlefield, I’ll be sure to take your head!”
Standing beside her, Wu Qing gestured threateningly with a fierce look on his face.
Then, the two turned around simultaneously and leapt towards the passage that was connected to Wind Mist Territory, disappearing in an instant.
Mo Na Ye simply watched without trying to stop them.
In fact, he couldn’t stop them. The two had already planned their escape. Even if Mo Na Ye had set up an ambush on the other side of the passage in advance, that might not be enough to contain them.
In the previous situation, he believed that victory was already assured and thus there was no need to waste troops by setting up ambushes. But after Xiao Xiao summoned the World Bead that sealed the Giant Spirit God, chaos ensued. Under the frenzied attack of the Giant Spirit God, he had no choice but to react in the moment.
Now, pursuing the enemy was meaningless as they could potentially be ambushed by them.
It was a complete and utter defeat, with heavy casualties.
Seven Pseudo-Royal Lords died while all the others were injured. Mo Na Ye didn’t know how to explain this to Mo Yu when he returned.
Throughout the years, Mo Yu had trusted him a lot; otherwise, he would not have granted him so much control. But looking back on the various plans he had presided over through the years, it seemed that none had progressed as he had envisioned…
In a previous action against Yang Kai before the appearance of the Universe Furnace, many Innate Territory Lords died. But, due to the sudden appearance of the Universe Furnace, Mo Na Ye had ultimately failed and allowed Yang Kai to escape. During the battle between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan inside the Universe Furnace, the Black Ink Clan suffered the loss of a new Royal Lord and several Pseudo-Royal Lords. If Mo Na Ye hadn’t quickly escaped in the end, he might have also been killed.
Initially, he thought he had successfully prevented Xiang Shan from advancing to the Ninth-Order, which was a small consolation, but in the end, Xiang Shan still succeeded. This time, the plan that was thought to be foolproof resulted in the loss of seven Pseudo-Royal Lords from the Black Ink Clan and allowed the two strongest living Ninth-Order Masters to break free.
Mo Na Ye felt discouraged all of a sudden.
[In the end, the Human Race is still favoured by Heaven.]
“Hou!” Suddenly, a roar shook the void from deep within, and Mo Na Ye snapped back to attention. He turned his head in the direction of the commotion and saw a massive figure floating in the distance.
He understood immediately that it was coming from the two Giant Spirit Gods that had been entangled for many years.
These two Giant Spirit Gods had been locked in combat for almost a millennium, their limbs intertwined like children in a playground scuffle. For years, they remained stuck in this stalemate.
Suddenly, there was a commotion, indicating that the fighting had drawn attention.
Soon, clashes could be heard from the depths of the void.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed as he quickly regained his composure and shouted, “Let’s go!”
The Barren Territory was vast enough to accommodate two Giant Spirit Gods as they wreaked havoc on the battlefield, but if all four were to start an all-out fight, there would be no safe place in this entire Great Territory left.
A battle of this level was beyond the ability of mere Pseudo-Royal Lords to interfere with. Even Mo Na Ye himself didn’t want to get involved; therefore, as soon as he realised what was about to happen, he decisively led the Pseudo-Royal Lords to retreat.
Shortly after they returned to the No-Return Pass through the Territory Gate, two huge figures finally appeared in the void. They were entangled with each other as they approached that from the side and soon arrived near Ah Da’s battlefield with his opponent.
“Brother!” Ah Da’s eyes lit up when he saw Ah Er’s figure while engaged in a fierce battle with his opponent.
The Giant Spirit Gods, a unique Race, had always been rare, and due to their innate behaviour, they spend most of their time either traveling or hibernating, so they rarely cross paths.
Ah Da had clearly not met his clansmen in years, so seeing one now was quite exciting.
Soon after though, he became enraged and shouted, “How dare you hit my Brother? I’ll kill you!”
With those words, he disregarded his own opponent and charged straight towards Ah Er.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God, who had been entangled with Ah Er, was slightly stunned, but quickly gave chase. Though their movements seemed clumsy, every strike shook the Heavens and the Earth.
Meanwhile, Ah Er faced off against the opponent who had originally belonged to Ah Da. When Ah Da threw his opponent aside, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God naturally pursued and joined the chaotic fray.
In an instant, the four Giant Spirit Gods began wreaking havoc in the Great Territory, causing chaos and destruction. With each clash, the Great Territory was like a pond that had boulders tossed into it, sending ripples outwards in all directions.
Wherever the ripples were, space became unstable and countless Void Cracks tore open. It was as if the entire Barren Territory was on the verge of collapsing.
Several months later, a notice was sent from the Supreme Headquarters to the various front-line battlefields. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, who had both been stationed in Wind Mist Territory for thousands of years, had returned. The Humans gained two more Ninth-Order Masters with Xiao Xiao assuming command of the Soaring Cloud Army, while Wu Qing led the Purple Feather Army.
Furthermore, the Humans had an additional Giant Spirit God as an ally, which restrained the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that was trapped for many years.
The news spread and the morale of the Humans soared. The boost in momentum allowed them to easily seize several Great Territories on various fronts.
“500 years. It has already been 500 years. Do you know how I managed to make it through these 500 years?” The low voice was full of repression, helplessness, and a hint of anger, revealing the speaker’s inner unrest.
But there was no response.
On the Soul Warming Lotus, Fang Tian Ci looked at Thunder Shadow as if he was an idiot. Thunder Shadow immediately lost his composure and complained, “You should have replied by asking me how…” [If you don’t ask, how am I supposed to continue?]
“Childish!” Fang Tian Ci threw out a comment casually.
Upon hearing that, Thunder Shadow became deeply hurt and looked helpless, “It’s so boring to be with someone like you, surely no woman has ever liked you.”
Fang Tian Ci chuckled, “I have many descendants!”
“Big Brother, how’s this Universe World?” Ignoring him, Thunder Shadow turned his head and asked Yang Kai.
Soon, Yang Kai’s response came, “The World Principles here are close to perfection, and there are signs of simple life. This can be considered a newly born Universe World. Perhaps in a few years, real living creatures will appear.”
Thunder Shadow immediately became excited, “Doesn’t that mean we are getting closer to the 3,000 Worlds?”
According to Yang Kai’s previous speculation, by exploring the Universe Worlds along the way and observing the completeness of their World Principles, one could determine whether the direction of travel was correct.
The closer they got to the 3,000 Worlds, the more complete the World Principles in the Universe Worlds would be. Yang Kai had been constantly correcting their direction and rushing forward during these last 500 years. The Universe Worlds they encountered along the way indeed had more complete World Principles as predicted.
This Universe Word had its World Principles fully taken shape, and there were now some of the simplest forms of life emerging.
If there was life, it meant that this Universe World had the conditions for life to exist. Perhaps after another million years of evolution, some unique creatures specific to this Universe World would emerge.
They were heading in the right direction so all that was left was time.
Yang Kai had been returning from the edge of the Universe, and it did indeed take a lot of time. It had been 500 years, yet he still couldn’t find his way back.
500 years had passed since the Universe Furnace closed. Since Yang Kai was unsure of the state of the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, he had to hurry back.
Without staying much longer in this Universe World, he continued on his journey.
100 years later, when Yang Kai descended to another Universe World to investigate the situation, he discovered that there were indeed living creatures in it.
Most of the living creatures lived in the vast seas, with few living on land. The entire Universe World was covered with green vegetation, giving it a lush appearance. With the emergence of living creatures, it meant that the Universe World was now fully alive and had the potential to give rise to sentient creatures like Humans in the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai once again attempted to connect with the World Tree but to no avail.
The various Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds were interdependent with the World Tree, with each World Fruit on the World Tree reflecting the state of each Universe World; if one died, its corresponding World Fruit would wither away as well.
This Universe World was vibrant with vitality, but it had no connection to the World Tree at all. Ultimately, it was because the power of the World Tree had not yet reached this place.
After all, this place was just too far away from the 3,000 Worlds.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but recall his previous speculations after hearing Thunder Shadow’s casual remark that left him with much to ponder.
[Was the Universe Furnace the thing that created the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield? What about beyond? Is there truly only one Universe? Are there more unknown Universes beyond this one?]
[Perhaps the 3,000 Worlds is one Universe, and the Black Ink Battlefield is another?]
At his current location, Yang Kai believed he was in a much deeper part of the Black Ink Battlefield, a place that neither the Humans nor Black Ink Clan had ever set foot in. If it were truly the same Universe though, why couldn’t the power of the World Tree reach this place, where the World Principles were already fully established, and living beings had even emerged?
Yang Kai found himself deep in thought.
[Perhaps… I can find a way to connect this Universe World to the World Tree? If I succeed, I could use the Old Tree’s power to return to Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary without wasting any more time and energy on the journey.]
The road ahead was clearly still quite long, and though Yang Kai used Space Secret Techniques to speed up his travel, it still took him 600 years with no sign of the end. At this point, he was uncertain when he would finally see the familiar landscape again.
Then, Yang Kai had an idea. He had an item that he could use to test his theory. Without hesitation, he soared into the air and found a mountain valley filled with the fragrance of flowers. Then, he opened the portal to his Small Universe and moved a towering tree out of it.
It was a World Tree Clone!
This was not the one that belonged to him, but to Fang Tian Ci.
During the union of the three Selves, Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe merged completely with Yang Kai’s, strengthening the size of his Small Universe and adding to his heritage. Naturally, the World Tree clone was brought into Yang Kai’s Small Universe as well.
Yang Kai already had one, so a second one was redundant. He had intended to find a suitable person to give it to and help them grow quickly, but he had never expected to be needing to use it in the current situation.
Surging his World Force, Yang Kai dug a large pit in the mountain valley and planted the World Tree clone in it. He wasn’t worried about it not surviving as the World Tree was a mystical and unparalleled entity. The simple root planted in the Star Boundary by Yang Kai previously had grown into a towering tree, so a complete tree would naturally thrive.
After completing this, Yang Kai did not continue on his journey but instead sat down under the tree and waited quietly. He didn’t know if his plan would work, and even if it did, he didn’t know how many years it would take.
Quietly resigning himself to the possibility of wasting another 100 years, Yang Kai hoped that his plan would bear fruit within that time frame. If it didn’t, he would dig up the World Tree clone and continue his journey.
It would only be 100 years, so it wasn’t too bad.
Moreover, he wasn’t planning to just sit and wait.
Although he had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and had even taken a big step forward in his cultivation by merging Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe with his, it did not mean he would be satisfied with that.
He still had room for improvement! His future enemies would no longer be limited to the Territory Lords and Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan. He might even have to face Mo, who was in the Creation Realm, so he needed to be stronger.
The Martial Dao was a long journey of exploration, accumulating strength and experience bit by bit.
He had a lot of cultivation materials on hand and could refine them to continuously strengthen his own heritage.
As time passed, sets of material turned into dust in Yang Kai’s hands.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the World Tree stood majestic and grand as a precious treasure born along with Heavens and Earth. When the Heavens and Earth split, it had already come into existence at almost the same time as the first Primordial Light.
Its birth was rooted in the numerous Universe Worlds of the 3,000 Worlds, and its existence was intimately linked with the life or death of those Universe Worlds.
The peak World Tree was covered in World Fruits, and every branch was bent under the weight of the fruits. But, as the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, one by one the Universe Worlds were corrupted by the Black Ink Strength, causing them to die, which resulted in the withering of World Fruits in droves.
Until today, there were only slightly over 2,000 fruits left on its branches…
Thankfully, Yang Kai was able to save a large number of Universe Worlds by refining them in the past; otherwise, the World Tree would have already withered away completely.
Despite this, the World Tree still appeared old and feeble.
The loss of so many Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds had drained the World Tree of its vitality so it spent most of its time standing in silence apart from when Yang Kai visited it. It could do nothing to stop the calamity befalling the 3,000 Worlds, and if the Human Race were to lose, the World Tree would perish with them.
Suddenly, an old face appeared on the thick trunk with a look of surprise and doubt showing on its brow. It vaguely felt that something in a very distant place seemed to have a faint resonance with itself, but this feeling flashed by, making it difficult to determine its authenticity.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the old face on the trunk gradually disappeared. The withering and falling of World Fruits caused its vitality to plummet, leaving it with little energy to think about minor issues. Most of the time over the years, it had been asleep, only waking when Yang Kai contacted it.
In the distant void, Yang Kai sat cross-legged under the tree in that Universe World, constantly refining various materials to enhance his strength.
The towering tree behind him danced in the wind, while the massive roots began to intertwine deep in the earth in a place invisible to the naked eye, madly devouring the power of this Universe World and merging with it.
Years later, in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree suddenly woke up from its slumber and the old face appeared once again on its thick trunk.
It clearly carried a puzzled look this time as it felt that something strange had happened to itself, but because it had just awakened, it was difficult to determine what this change was.
Only after carefully examining itself did the Old Tree suddenly realize.
A branch trembled and drooped down, and on the trunk, the old face of the Old Tree showed a look of pleasant surprise and doubt, changing alternatively.
This was all because, on that branch, a little flower bud had sprouted.
The Old Tree was shocked.
It actually bloomed!
This had never happened before. It was born with Heaven and Earth and had hung with World Fruits since its birth with each World Fruit corresponding to a Universe World in the 3,000 Worlds.
But it had never experienced something like blooming, and for a moment, the Old Tree was a bit confused.
The blooming of the Old Tree was an unprecedented event that had never happened before.
It wanted to understand what had happened to itself, so after careful examination, it sensed a very distant location through the flower bud.
Suddenly, it understood that the sensation that had arisen several years ago was not just a figment of its imagination.
Although the sensation was still vague and intermittent, it did actually exist.
[Why do I have this strange connection with a place so far away?] Old Tree was completely baffled.
Because of the unusual occurrence, Old Tree remained vigilant and did not fall into a deep sleep in the following years, occasionally investigating the situation of the flower bud.
As time passed, the little flower bud gradually bloomed, and with the falling of the petals, a tiny World Fruit appeared!
Old Tree was completely shocked. For countless years, it had only experienced the withering and falling of its World Fruits and it had never given birth to a new one. Furthermore, it did not understand what caused this sudden change.
The only thing it knew was that the birth of this World Fruit was not harmful to itself, because, with the birth of this new fruit, a weak vitality was injected into its old body.
Several dozen years later, when the World Fruit grew to the size of a fist and became completely solidified, it suddenly felt a faint call from it.
It had experienced this many times before, it was like when Yang Kai needed to borrow its strength to arrive before it.
Under the World Tree clone in this Universe World, Yang Kai was overjoyed.
He had finally made contact with the Old Tree, and although it seemed a bit unstable, the current result confirmed his previous speculation.
Over the past several dozen years, the World Tree clone had undoubtedly grown significantly and had already completely merged with this Universe World. After devouring a large amount of World Force in this place, the World Tree clone began to nourish this land too.
Over the years, Yang Kai tried connecting with the World Tree every once in a while but made no progress. That made him think that his previous idea was wrong.
It wasn’t until this moment that he finally made contact with the World Tree in the faraway Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
This made him feel delighted.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree understood roughly what was happening. The World Tree clone planted was technically also its Soul Clone. It was not aware of the situation before because the World Tree clone had not fully merged with the Universe World it was planted on, but now that it had, despite being separated by the endless void, the Old Tree could vaguely sense the situation through the World Tree clone now.
It couldn’t help but marvel at what was happening as it had never experienced anything like it before.
Although their connection was not very clear, Yang Kai’s intentions were crystal clear to Old Tree. Over the years, every time Yang Kai connected to it, it meant that he needed to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. So, Old Tree immediately exerted its power, causing its massive body to start shaking.
In the next moment, Old Tree’s aged face suddenly changed.
Under the World Tree clone in that Universe World, Yang Kai’s figure abruptly disappeared as soon as the Old Tree began to act; it was as if Yang Kai had entered an unpredictable and indescribable space in an instant.
He had experienced this many times before, so he was already used to it; however, Yang Kai quickly realised that something was wrong.
Every time he used the power of the World Tree to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it was basically an instantaneous thing, but this time, it seemed to be taking a long time!
After travelling for a long time in that strange space, Yang Kai still hadn’t emerged, not to mention, the connection between him and the World Tree became very vague, almost to the point of being non-existent.
Yang Kai was shocked. He was only able to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by borrowing the power of the World Tree because he had saved and refined more than 2,000 Universe Worlds in the past. Later, he placed these Universe Worlds on the corresponding World Fruits on the Old Tree. It could be said that these Universe Worlds and their corresponding World Fruits all had his imprint on them.
It was precisely because of these marks that he had an unbreakable connection with Old Tree, which allowed him to use the latter’s power to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Having a connection was the reason why they could sense each other.
Now that their connection was almost about to be cut off, it became a nightmare for Yang Kai. If the connection was truly cut off, he didn’t know what he would encounter.
It was highly likely that he would be trapped on the way of trying to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and it would be difficult for him to find his way out.
Thankfully, the blurry connection was re-established again when it was on the verge of cutting off, clearly because Old Tree had also sensed it and was exerting all its efforts.
Without daring to delay, Yang Kai immediately used his Space Secret Technique to move forward quickly; however, it was in vain…
The road ahead was long and the end was nowhere in sight. Despite Old Tree’s best efforts, their connection was rapidly weakening again.
It made Yang Kai frantic, realising that he was still too far away from the Old Tree to be easily guided into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, even with the Old Tree’s power.
If their connection was completely lost, he might never find his way back.
At this critical moment, Yang Kai quickly immersed himself in thought to figure out a plan while rushing forward. He had weathered many storms over the years, so he developed a calm demeanor in the face of crises.
Suddenly, Yang Kai lit up as he thought of a solution. He quickly opened a portal to his Small Universe and a towering tree appeared in it, it was his own World Tre clone.
By planting a World Tree clone in a newborn Universe World, he was able to establish a connection with the Old Tree. If a planted World Tree clone had such an effect, then his own World Tree clone must also have it.
Sure enough, when Yang Kai did this, the blurry connection between him and the Old Tree instantly became strong. At the next moment, Yang Kai felt the power of his Small Universe uncontrollably flowing out like a dam breaking, gushing like a raging river…
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree’s old face was full of hardship, obviously nearing its limit. The giant World Tree was also shaking constantly until at a certain moment, ripples appeared on the newly formed World Fruit, followed by a figure breaking out of it and falling in front of the Old Tree.
Subsequently, the shaking trunk gradually calmed down, and on the tree’s surface, the Old Tree’s aged face looked even more withered and old. Looking at the familiar figure that suddenly appeared, it couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
[I’ve really overexerted myself…]
Yang Kai was also gasping for breath, half kneeling on the ground, his face slightly pale. He had just gone through a very dangerous journey. If he hadn’t thought of using his own World Tree clone at the last moment, he would have had no way to return to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Though he managed to return, the World Force in his Small Universe had been greatly depleted. He was currently at the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and the heritage of his Small Universe was extremely rich; however, this one action had consumed nearly half of his strength. If it weren’t for his World Tree clone isolating and protecting his Small Universe, Void World would have been in turmoil.
After calming down a bit, Yang Kai stood up and looked up at the familiar World Tree, feeling joy in his heart. He had finally returned!
“Where did you go?” Old Tree suddenly spoke up. He had guided Yang Kai here many times before, and although it did take a toll on it, it was still within an acceptable range. But this time, the guidance had severely damaged its foundation, and almost failed.
Old Tree was very curious about where Yang Kai went as in its perception, its clone had been left in a very, very distant place.
Yang Kai sat in front of the Old Tree and sighed, “It’s a long story…”
He recounted his experiences simply, and upon hearing how the Universe Furnace created the Universe Worlds from Chaos and how Yang Kai returned from the edge of the Universe, even Old Tree, who had existed since ancient times, was flabbergasted.
It knew about the Universe Furnace, but had no idea that Universe Worlds were created from the sea of Chaos beyond the Universe. If that were true, then its own birth could also be said to have originated from the Universe Furnace as it was the Universe Furnace that gave birth to the Universe Worlds, which were symbiotic with the World Tree.
After telling his story, Yang Kai couldn’t help but complain, “Old Tree, why didn’t you tell me earlier about the wonders of your clones?”
If he had known, he might have been able to return even sooner.
But on second thought, even if he did know about it, it would probably be useless. His return this time was already the extreme limit. Even if Yang Kai planted the clone at the furthest reaches of the Universe and someone made a connection with the Old Tree, he might not have been able to use its power to return to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Old Tree fell silent for a moment before saying, “I too had no idea until now!”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was speechless. It made sense though, given the countless ages that passed. Perhaps Old Tree had given away some of its clones before, but all of them had undoubtedly been refined by those Masters.
No Master before Yang Kai was willing to plant the clone in a Universe World as they had all used them for their own purposes.
Although Yang Kai had planted World Tree clones in both the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World previously, those two Universes World already had World Fruits corresponding to the World Tree; thus, the true use of the clones could not be fully realised.
This time, Yang Kai had a sudden inspiration and planted a World Tree clone in a very remote location, which created an inseparable connection between that Universe World and the World Tree.
It could be said that from ancient times to the present, no one had ever done what Yang Kai did, so of course, Old Tree did not know about it, becoming surprised when a branch suddenly bloomed and bore fruit.
Though the World Tree existed for a long time and saw and experienced many things, it didn’t mean it was all-knowing and all-powerful. At the very least, it was not aware of the creation of the Universe Worlds by the Universe Furnace from Chaos.
Common people, and even Old Tree, only thought of the Universe Furnace as an opportunity, but the true mystery of the Universe Furnace was only known to Yang Kai.
“Old Tree, I have your clone in my Small Universe too. Doesn’t that mean that in the future, no matter where I am, you can guide me here?” Yang Kai asked, only realising this after experiencing today’s events.
If that were the case, then his actions would be much easier in the future. Even if he encountered the same situation as before, he wouldn’t have to spend too much time rushing around since he could simply open up his Small Universe, borrow the connection between his World Tree clone and the World Tree, and return at will when needed.
That was what he thought, but Yang Kai couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. The situation seemed more complicated than he had imagined.
Old Tree didn’t directly answer the question, but instead said, “Think about it. What is the source that helps me to guide you to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and the many Universe Worlds from here?”
“Source?” Yang Kai mused.
Upon closer inspection, he realised that he was able to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary through the power of the World Tree because he had refined over 2,000 Universe Worlds in the past. Each of those Universe Worlds reflected the World Fruits on Old Tree’s body, creating an inseparable connection between them.
Therefore, regardless of where Yang Kai was, he only needed a living Universe World as a medium in order to use the power of the Old Tree to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
It was also for this reason that he specially refined a Universe World from the 3,000 Worlds and brought it to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so that he could easily investigate the situation there at any time.
And every time he left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he needed a World Fruit as a medium. For example, if he wanted to go to the Star Boundary, he needed to find the corresponding World Fruit. If he wanted to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he just had to find the World Fruit that corresponded to the Universe World he had left behind previously…
Yang Kai suddenly realised, “The source is the World Fruit.”
The face on the trunk of the tree nodded, “You can also say it’s the still living Universe Worlds.”
“So, my plan won’t work.”
His Small Universe didn’t have a corresponding World Fruit. When he returned just now, he only strengthened the connection between himself and the Old Tree using his World Tree Clone; after all, each clone was a part of the Old Tree, and there was an inseparable connection between each clone and the Old Tree.
Realising this, Yang Kai became slightly disappointed.
Then, Old Tree suddenly said, “I may not be able to guide you to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the future at all.”
Yang Kai was taken aback as he realised the problem, “Was the consumption too great this time?”
He had just noticed that Old Tree’s condition was worse than the last time he saw it; the leaves on the huge tree crown were slightly yellowed and showed signs of withering.
Old Tree responded with a grunt, “The distance was too great. Although my clone did establish a connection, my power has not completely radiated to that range. I’m afraid I will fall into a deep sleep soon.”
“What can I do to help?” Yang Kai asked. With Old Tree sleeping, he would definitely lose a means of quick travel. At the very least, he would not be able to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction whenever he wanted.
Old Tree pondered for a moment and then shook its trunk, “You probably can’t help much unless there are more Universe Worlds that can establish a connection with me like this time.”
However, that was unrealistic. All the remaining Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds had already been corrupted by Black Ink Strength and had died. Where could there be more Universe Worlds?
On Yang Kai’s return journey, he did see many newly born Universe Worlds, but Old Tree’s power could not cover such a far distance; though he could use the World Tree clones, Old Tree could not give him any more of those either.
The three World Tree clones back then were already Old Tree’s limit.
It could be said that it might never wake up after this deep sleep. Only when the Human Race completely defeated the Black Ink Clan and after the 3,000 Worlds went through generations of recuperation might there be a chance for it to restore its vitality.
Yang Kai fell silent. Since he had established a connection with Old Tree years ago and received Old Tree’s assistance, he felt quite helpless not being able to provide it with any help this time.
“Where do you want to go now?” Old Tree asked, “Before I fall asleep, I can still send you there for the last time.”
“The Star Boundary,” Yang Kai slowly stood up, cupped his fist, and looked at Old Tree’s aged face on the trunk, “Please rest assured and recuperate. I will take care of the matter with the Black Ink Clan. When you wake up, it will be after the disaster has passed!”
Old Tree chuckled, “I’ll be waiting for that day!”
Hopefully, that day would come soon.
Yang Kai nodded then quickly headed towards the World Fruit corresponding to the Star Boundary. At the same time, Old Tree exerted its last bit of strength. In an instant, the world turned upside down and it rapidly enlarged in Yang Kai’s vision.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Old Tree used its last bit of power, and its face slowly dissipated. In the moment of its consciousness falling asleep, it suddenly realised something.
This time, Yang Kai seemed to have already reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm… It was so weak before that it had not noticed it.
Somewhere close to the Star Boundary, Yang Kai broke through Space and appeared. As always, the moment he showed up, a powerful Divine Sense probed from somewhere in the Star Boundary to investigate the situation. This was the Master who was in charge of the Star Boundary, using his Divine Sense to check the situation.
Open Heaven Realm Masters in general were not so sensitive, even those who reached the Eighth Order would not have sensed Yang Kai while he was concealing himself. However, the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary were capable of such feats. As Great Emperors, they were intimately tied to the Star Boundary and recognised by its Will. With their hearts set on it, they could not miss any suspicious situations with their Divine Sense in the range of the Star Boundary.
With a touch of his Divine Sense, the other party clearly perceived Yang Kai’s identity and quickly withdrew it.
The next moment, a figure soared into the sky from somewhere in the Star Boundary, appearing soundlessly and swiftly before Yang Kai.
Looking at the visitor, Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Senior Iron Blood, it’s been a while!”
The visitor was none other than Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wu Hen. He looked at Yang Kai with suspicion before nodding, “You’re back?”
When the Universe Furnace closed and Yang Kai disappeared without a trace, not only did the Black Ink Clan speculate that he was trapped inside, but some of the high-ranking authority figures of the Human Race did too. Although they didn’t know why Yang Kai would be trapped inside, they had no way to rescue him, so they could only let it be.
However, a small number of people still firmly believed that even if Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace, he wouldn’t be stuck for too long. They believed that he would break free and return eventually without needing to wait until the next opening of the Universe Furnace.
Therefore, when Zhan Wu Hen saw Yang Kai, he wasn’t too surprised since he had watched Yang Kai grow up from when he was still a young man. Yang Kai could do what ordinary people couldn’t, so escaping from the Universe Furnace shouldn’t be anything to him.
“Are you injured?” Yang Kai frowned.
Zhan Wu Hen clearly had quite severe injuries on his body. At this moment, his face was pale and his aura was unstable. With his cultivation at the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it was evident how intense his war had become.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was not surprised that Zhan Wu Hen had ascended to the Eighth Order, given that the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary had all directly broken through to the Sixth-Order Realm. Additionally, with their unique advantages when cultivating in the Star Boundary, they had all already advanced to the Eighth Order many years ago.
At this moment, Zhan Wu Hen was already at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but because of the innate limitations of the Open Heaven Realm Method, he couldn’t make another breakthrough.
He did not enter when the Universe Furnace opened. In fact, Yang Kai did not see any Masters from the Star Boundary inside.
Zhan Wu Hen said lightly, “I was injured while fighting outside. It’s nothing special.”
If it weren’t for his serious injuries, he wouldn’t have come back to the Star Boundary to recuperate. To him, battles were the essence of life.
After a moment of silence, Zhan Wu Hen continued, “Ice Feather and Heavens Revelations died.”
Upon receiving the news, Yang Kai’s expression trembled as he closed his eyes and sighed.
There was never a war with no casualties. In the countless years of battle against the Black Ink Clan, there were naturally countless deaths. Whether it was on the Black Ink Battlefield or later on the Great Territory Battlefields, the reaping of life had become a norm of war.
Even Yang Kai’s own Dawn Squad, which he had led back then, had lost several members under his watch.
Ice Feather and Heaven’s Revelations were Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, who already ascended to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm for a long time, but in this catastrophic war that swept across the Universe, what use was it being in the Eighth-Order? Many times, it was difficult to even protect oneself from the Black Ink Clan with such a cultivation.
Frankly speaking, Yang Kai was not that familiar with these two Great Emperors. It was only because they were fellow people from the Star Boundary, which gave him a sense of kinship compared to those Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Even so, when he heard the news of their deaths, his heart sank.
“Is the war that intense?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows and asked.
Zhan Wu Hen nodded, “You’ll have to ask the Supreme Headquarters for the specifics. They have a better grasp of the situation.” He paused then continued, “Their sacrifice was not in vain. The Star Boundary’s reputation was not tarnished, and their deaths also made room for successors. There are a few new Great Emperors who have emerged, all who directly ascended to the Seventh Order, with the potential to reach the Ninth Order in the future.”
Every Universe World had a limit to the number of Great Emperors it could sustain. The Star Boundary’s limit was 10 many years ago, but with the continuous nourishment of the World Tree clone, its capacity had increased, and now it can support 12 Great Emperors. However, as long as the older generation Great Emperors remained, it was difficult for newcomers to rise to power.
With the fall of Ice Feather and Heaven’s Revelations, two Great Emperor positions were vacated in the Star Boundary. Currently, there were many talents in the Star Boundary who had already directly ascended to the Seventh Order, so they should be able to gain recognition from the Star Boundary’s Will and become Great Emperors in the future, achieving twice the result with half the effort when they cultivate in the Star Boundary.
But, Yang Kai shook his head, “There isn’t much time left for them to grow.”
The time it took to advance from Seventh-Order to Ninth-Order was incredibly long. Even if they became Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, it would take thousands of years for them to fully mature.
It was better to rely on the many Eighth-Order Masters than them at present.
The good seedlings who directly advanced to Seventh-Order in the first generation were now all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Perhaps in a short time, they could advance to the Ninth Order.
As for the Human Race, as long as the first new generation of Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters finally arrived, there would be an endless stream of Ninth-Order Masters emerging. Over the past thousands of years, the accumulation of the Human Race’s power had already reached a point where they were ready to soar. Once a certain critical point was reached, the Human Race would inevitably produce countless elites.
This was the power that the Human Race could rely on in the future, and it was also due to the Open Heaven Realm Cradle, the Star Boundary.
As Yang Kai spoke, he connected his mind with Void World and projected it into the Void Dao Temple. Soon, the portal to his Small Universe opened, and figures poured out of it one after another.
Over the years, Void Dao Temple had accumulated a large number of good seedlings who could ascend to the Open Heaven Realm.
In Yang Kai’s Small Universe, time flowed at a different pace from the outside world, and this flow rate only increased as his mastery over the Dao of Time and his strength grew.
At present, with his cultivation at the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and his mastery of the Dao of Time at the Eighth-Level, the flow rate in his Small Universe had reached a 10:1 ratio compared to the outside world.
In other words, while one day passed outside, 10 days had already elapsed in his Small Universe.
It had been many years since Yang Kai last brought out talents from the Void Dao Temple. In terms of the passing of time in his Small Universe, it had been over 10,000 years. Over such a long time, a considerable number of outstanding talents had naturally accumulated in the Void Dao Temple.
These people had already reached their limits within the Void Dao Temple and would generally ascend to the Open Heaven Realm shortly after leaving Void World, requiring a Master to guide and protect them.
However, Yang Kai always left this matter to his Head Manager to handle, and since Hua Qing Si was not present today, he handed the task to Zhan Wu Hen.
When all the Emperor Realm Masters gathered, Yang Kai said, “I’m entrusting these people to you. Manager Hua knows how to handle them.”
Zhan Wu Hen nodded and asked, “Are you not going back?”
Yang Kai looked towards the Star Boundary and shook his head, “No need!”
He had just returned, and knowing how intense the war had become, he needed to head to the Supreme Headquarters right away.
Saying so, he waved his hand and took a step forward, immediately disappearing.
The group of disciples who just left the Void Dao Temple didn’t understand what was going on and simply watched the Dao Lord disappear far off into the distance. They could only bow and send him off.
Meanwhile, in High Heaven Palace’s Pill Room, in front of a huge Alchemy Furnace, Xia Ning Chang, who had her face veiled, was using different techniques to control the furnace’s fire and refine Spirit Pills.
The process of refining these Spirit Pills was not difficult as it was a standard kind of healing pill that was in high demand on the battlefield. With her being an Alchemy Great Grandmaster, she naturally had no difficulty in refining them.
Suddenly, Xia Ning Chang paused for a moment and looked up at the sky outside. Although thick walls and heavy barriers were blocking her view, her clear eyes seemed to ignore all obstructions and she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure that was already far away.
The flames in the furnace of the Alchemy Furnace flickered slightly.
Then, Xia Ning Chang quickly focused her mind and controlled the heat, continuing to refine the Spirit Pills. Her eyes instantly became crescent-shaped as she became extremely happy and joyful upon seeing that figure. Her techniques changed constantly, and the Alchemy Furnace echoed with the sound of the Spirit Pills forming, a clear and pleasant sound.
Previously when Mi Jing Lun came to the High Heaven Palace to talk to her about Yang Kai’s disappearance, Xia Ning Chang had acted calm and not worried about Yang Kai’s safety, but in reality, how could she not be concerned at all? She simply had enough confidence in her Husband to one day return.
She believed that no matter what difficulties and dangers he faced, no matter where he was, he would definitely come back because this was his home, and there were still people waiting for him there.
Now that he had finally returned, Xia Ning Chang could finally put down the worry that had been weighing on her heart.
Outside of the Star Boundary, Hua Qing Si urgently led a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters over after receiving Zhan Wu Hen’s message. When she saw the many Emperor Realm Masters gathered around, she was slightly startled, but quickly realised what was happening and exclaimed in delight, “Palace Master has returned?”
This was not the first time she had seen such a scene of many Emperors who were about to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm gathered together, and she knew exactly where these Emperor Realm Masters came from. Zhan Wu Hen nodded and pointed to those Emperor Realm Masters, saying, “I’ll leave this to you.”
After speaking, he flashed back to the Star Boundary. He was seriously injured and needed to continue healing. If he had not sensed Yang Kai’s aura, he would not have ventured out of seclusion so rashly.
Originally, Hua Qing Si wanted to ask more about Yang Kai’s condition, but Zhan Wu Hen left too quickly, giving her no chance to speak. She was annoyed, but the Palace Master’s return was good news. For years, there had been rumours that their Palace Master was trapped in the Universe Furnace, and many people were worried about him. Now that the Palace Master had returned though, those people should be able to rest assured.
“S-Senior… I can’t hold on much longer…” A weak voice suddenly came from the side.
Hua Qing Si turned her head and saw a Dao Temple disciple with a strained expression, his aura fluctuating violently, clearly on the verge of a breakthrough.
They had been cultivating in Void Dao Temple for many years and had already reached the limit of their cultivation with their condensed Dao Seal and refined Element Powers, but because of the suppression of Yang Kai’s Small Universe, they were unable to break through. Now that they had left his Small Universe and the suppression was gone, they were basically ready to burst forth.
Not only the speaker, but many others showed signs of imminent breakthrough. Hua Qing Si was used to this kind of situation already and immediately ordered these disciples to spread out and find suitable positions. Afterwards, she had the Open Heaven Realm Masters she brought to stand guard for the disciples.
She personally distributed Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pills to the Dao Temple disciples, which drastically increased the success rate of their breakthrough.
It should be noted that those selected from Void Dao Temple were all talented individuals. At the very least, they could directly ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and many among them could directly ascend to the Sixth-Order. Every now and then, there were even a few who directly ascended to the Seventh Order.
Without the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pill, it was likely that some would fail in their breakthrough; however, over the years, there had not been a single disciple from Void Dao Temple who suffered such a fate. This was largely thanks to the efficacy of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pills.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had arrived at the Territory Gate of High Heaven Territory. Security was extremely tight here, with several Eighth-Order Masters personally guarding the portal with a Purifying Black Ink Battleship sealed with a large amount of Purifying Light on standby.
High Heaven Territory and the New Great Territory were now the most important rear bases for the Human Race and the foundation of their existence. Their importance was equivalent to the control of the No-Return Pass by the Black Ink Clan.
As the only gateway in and out of these Territories, this Territory Gate naturally received the highest level of attention and was highly guarded. The Purifying Black Ink Battleship stationed there could prevent any Black Ink Disciples from infiltrating, and all soldiers returning from the front lines, regardless of their cultivation, had to pass through it.
Yang Kai walked over without hiding his tracks. The Eighth-Order Masters guarding the area naturally noticed his aura, and each of them became suspicious and uncertain.
There were only a few Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race, and all of them were well-known and usually leading an Army to fight the Black Ink Clan. Therefore, it was natural for them to be puzzled by the sudden appearance of another Ninth-Order Master in the rear area.
The group of Eighth-Order Masters quickly gathered together and waited attentively.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai’s figure appeared in their sight that one of the Eighth-Order Masters suddenly realised, “It’s him!”
Saying so, he showed a happy expression and took the initiative to welcome Yang Kai.
As he approached, he cupped his fist and said, “Yang… I suddenly don’t know how to address you…”
He was much older than Yang Kai in terms of age and was also a seasoned veteran Eighth-Order Master. They had met each other a few times before, and he had always addressed Yang Kai as Junior Brother. But now that Yang Kai had advanced to the Ninth Order, calling him Junior Brother seemed inappropriate…
Besides, his seniority was much higher than Yang Kai’s, so calling him Sir was also quite inappropriate. After a moment of consideration, this Eighth-Order Master called out, “Army Commander Yang!”
In terms of titles, Yang Kai was still Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, though currently, Ou Yang Lie was taking charge of it. However, as long as the Supreme Headquarters didn’t issue a clear transfer order, Yang Kai would always be the Army Commander of Profound Nether Army.
Yang Kai recognized the person and greeted him, “Senior Brother Hai!”
After all, they did meet each other a few times, so Yang Kai had some impression of this veteran Eighth-Order Master before him.
Qi Hai’s heart warmed as Yang Kai addressed him as Senior Brother, obviously trying to avoid the awkwardness of addressing him according to their cultivations. In the past, there was no need for such a thing as all Ninth-Order Masters had lived for countless years, with intimidating seniority and status, so the title of Old Ancestor was appropriate.
But now, the situation was different. Yang Kai had just ascended to the Ninth-Order Realm, and in the future, there would be more rising stars reaching that height as well. The title of ‘Old Ancestor’ would no longer be suitable for the new generations.
At this moment, many Eighth-Order Masters had gathered around. Whether they knew Yang Kai or not, they had already guessed his identity and bowed respectfully. The eyes of the younger-generation Eighth-Order Masters were full of admiration and awe when they looked at Yang Kai.
Even as they took their first steps on their Martial Dao, Yang Kai’s name had been famous, and many aspired to become like him. Now, he stood before them as a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, causing them all to secretly marvel that legends were indeed legends…
Yang Kai was just passing through, and he wasn’t familiar with the many Eighth-Order Masters here, so there wasn’t much to talk about. After being routinely questioned by Qi Hai, he quickly departed.
Passing through the Territory Gate, he arrived at the nearby Great Territory and headed straight for the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located.
Soon, the Universe Fragment was in sight. At a glance, there were figures on it, and many Masters gathered around, busy doing who knew what.
In the Main Conference Hall, Mi Jing Lun was studying the situation of the various battlefields and discussing corresponding plans with many staff members. The staff members had different thoughts and often argued over some details, but ultimately, Mi Jing Lun was the one to make the final decision. The entire hall was bustling like a crowded marketplace.
Suddenly, Mi Jing Lun turned and looked outside.
The staff members who were arguing were immediately silenced, looking at him with surprise and suspicion.
“This is…” Mi Jing Lun frowned and took a few steps forward, coming outside the Main Hall. As he looked up, he saw a stream of light swiftly approaching from the void, appearing before him in the blink of an eye. Then, the stream of light dispersed, revealing a familiar figure.
Looking at the person who had suddenly appeared before him, Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but blink his eyes, thinking he was imagining things.
Yang Kai smiled and cupped his fist, “Senior Brother Mi!”
Following Mi Jing Lun, the other staff members became slightly shocked as well and then began to stir, with low cries ringing out.
“It’s Yang Kai!”
“Senior Yang has returned!”